*Casually comes back to this book as if it hasn't been months*

Hi :)

My light pants brush past my snout in warm breaths. I kept up my steady trot while following Kaieke's lead.

My eyes flicked over to him as he moved quicker nd clicked his tongue again. I huffed and sped up into a slow canter, kind of like a horse.

It's been seven days since the talk Kaieke and Varf had about the Black Rock. And we've been training hard. I could feel my stamina improving as the hours went by.

Every day I've been walked, trotted and cantered around the small ring for two hours. One hour after breakfast and one hour after lunch.

I rolled my tongue out. This is my second training session today and judging by the position of the sun, the hour was almost over.

My ears flicked when Kaieke spoke. "Alright. I know it's a bit early, but you can stop." I rose my non-existent eyebrow and stopped my canter. I lumbered over to Kaieke, taking deep breaths and calming my racing heart.

Kaieke walked to me and gently petted my head. I closed my eyes to the affection and purred.

The stupid alien grew on me.

Kaieke ran his hands down my neck before he positioned himself next to me. He sighed heavily and dropped his head onto my shoulder. Worry bubbled in my chest and I turned my head to look at him.

He seemed to know what I was asking and spoke in a tired stressed tone. "We do not have much time." My ears perked and a questioning hum vibrated in my chest.

Kaieke sighed again and turned his head to look at me. There hasn't been a day when I didn't love staring into his eyes. They were marvelous and such a shade of black that I've never seen before.

I could see the cloudiness in them. The boulders on his shoulders. I wanted to help but I wasn't sure how.

"Varf's mother is is ill." I sucked in an involuntary breath. "She fell sick when her shuttle flew too close to the Tokamate and almost crashed." He buried his face in my fur again. "She does not have much time left. Many Kymari don't. I don't have enough time to save them all."

My ears dropped when I felt something wet soak my fur.

He was crying.

I swallowed hard. I felt like crying too, but I couldn't. There was pressure behind my eyes that could not come out. I was going to drive my species to extinction.

But...

I looked at the silently crying Kymari. He probably knew we were going to die out too. Because we had a reason for not being harmed by the Black Rocks effect. We had to cause the death of a rare species because their home was destroying the planet.

I stared up at the sky.

Either way, we would die. If the Black Rock destroy this planet and killed all the creatures, then we would have no food and die out due to starvation. Besides. We were never meant to exist in the first place.

I sighed. To the Kaydenstrids, it's a lose-lose situation.

I took a deep breath and accepted it for what it was. I can think more about it later, right now I have a family member who needs help.

I turned my head and nudged at Kaieke's side. He sniffed and looked at me. I nudged him again and I bent down a bit so he could see the top of my shoulders.

"Annabelle?" He asked, almost as if asking permission. I huffed and cooed reassuringly at him. He smiled through his glassy eyes and easily hopped up.

I stood up as Kaieke settled into the dip behind my shoulders. It felt good to have his weight back on me.

I started walking as soon as he gripped some of the hair around my neck. I kept a steady, calm pace with long steps. Making my walk smooth and comfortable.

I felt Kaieke relax more as I passed through the gate. I lowered my head and rounded my back a bit in the process, letting Kaieke see over me.

I heard him sigh breathlessly at the beautiful sunset peeking over the wall. I rumbled a purr.

I kept up my smooth walk and passed the trees. The light filtered through the leaves and gave them an ethereal glow.

Kaieke relaxed even more and looked up. I followed his lead and appreciated the beauty of this forest. As a human I would've ignored this scene. It's hard to think humans rarely saw the small beauties in naturs.

That's what I love about the Kymari. The keep large parks in their cities and the citizens go out to them everyday. They took care of the plants and respected the homes of the creatures that lived there.

I glanced back at Kaieke. He look at me and smiled as he ran his hands through my mane. He respected me just as much as an Elder. And I respect him.

I gave a content chirp and my alien friend layed back and relaxed across my body and stared at the pink sky.

I'm glad I got the chance to meet him.

Man it's been a long time since I updated. I sincerely apologize for my absence. A lot, and I mean A LOT of things has happened.

I'm happy to announce that I am not sad anymore!

Anyway. I hope you enjoy this little bonding filler. The next chapter will flow back into the plot.

Stay safe lads~

(Picture of Shinx above)