Tal grew up learning the history of the three races, starting with what he thought of as his, Edifician. The Edificians, humanoids whose skin color seemed to vary and change with age. were born with skin so pale they were almost translucent, but when they died, their skin was blacker than the darkest of nights. The Edificians were the strongest breed of humanoids around, all of them born to be warriors or soldiers of some kind. They were also the most tolerant. It could be because their skin color changing as they aged prevented them from truly hating the physical differences in others. The planet of Edifice had a reputation for being the strongest and most accepting in the GPA.
Talon had grown up there and never left, even after the death of his birth parents. While his adopted sister, Josie, was Edifician, Tal had always known he couldn't be the same type as his sister and their father. His mother had explained that some Edificians had a rare gene that slowed the varying of the shade of their skin. Tal had assumed she meant herself. She had a golden-tinged hue whereas Wendiford carried a deep, dark bronze color and only a year separated them. Tal had always assumed that perhaps he carried the deformed Edifician gene because he couldn't be Vermithian or Nam.
He might have heard a small voice in the back of his mind telling him he could be Vermithian but Tal held firm to the idea he belonged to the Edifician race. He didn't care to find out otherwise.
The Nams were based on the planet Namprince and known for being pacifists and seemed to bring peace with them no matter where they were. Nams were all extremely tall humanoids. They were often referred to as gentle giants. Wherever they walked, rested, slept or placed their hands, gold glitter dust remained behind. They were very intimidating to look at, their bodies large and their voices extremely deep, even the women. Talking to them could be an experience. But after getting to know them, however, most people left with a strengthened belief in the basic goodness of all species. Tal had slept with a Nam before and while he had walked away from the experience feeling as if the entire galaxy was full of rainbows, sunshine, and happiness, he'd had to scrub his body for weeks before he'd finally rid himself of all of the gold glitter.
Being Nam never crossed his mind as a possibility. His short stature belied the possibility. Not to mention he didn't leave gold behind when he touched something. And Tal would never be known for keeping the peace, more for stirring up trouble most of the time.
Vermithians were the last breed of humanoids created by the evolution of the human race that took place after the destruction of Earth in 2408. While many were spread out throughout the galaxy, they were mainly found on the planet Volantic. Vermithians were also known for being extraordinarily beautiful.
Tal having been told he's beautiful most of his life, still never suspected he was of Vermithian heritage, largely due to the fact an opportunity had never arisen for him to heal someone. His parents didn't have any pets and lived in the city, and he'd always communed with nature and the heavens alongside his foster mother. It never truly occurred to him he had the special abilities to heal.
Wendiford and Markaela shared one last key piece of information with Tal. Aside from being able to conceive, no matter what gender, Vermithians could only get pregnant by or impregnate the mates fate had chosen for them.
In short, Tal discovered everything he'd thought about himself had been a lie. And he could remember the horrible conversation like it happened yesterday.
* * * *
Five Years before the Crash
Sephirscism 29, 2451
Tal stared at his adopted parents in shock, his mind unable to wrap around the idea he could get pregnant. Josie had gone upstairs to watch a vid of her favorite movie
Lover Against Lover
, a popular gay film. Tal would never understand why his sister had become so obsessed with and in love with movies about gay men, but since she supported him the most and had been the only one who had known about his sexuality up until that point, he couldn't begrudge her of her obsession.
He shook his head. "But that's impossible! I'm a guy!" he blustered, his eyes darting from his mother to his father.
He turned and looked around for a camera crew to come out and tell him everything he'd learned had been a big joke, just one big mistake. But no one came out and Tal began to accept his parents just might be telling him the truth.
"B-but how?" he wailed, realizing he whined, but thinking the occasion called for it.
He thought he'd show his parents how adult he could be when he came out to them and for the most part he had achieved his goal, but he even his online friend 'Mail S' from Tumaro would agree his new situation warranted some whining and sulking.
"You're Vermithian, honey. For your people, being born a man is merely a formality, not a fact," Markaela stated, her voice soft, sweet, and oddly soothing to everyone that she met.
Tal instantly began to calm down. Realizing Markaela used her 'nature communing voice' he jerked out of the peaceful trance he'd found himself in and sat up in his chair quickly, ignoring the sighs of his parents.
"What does that mean?" Tal asked, the words wrenched from his throat.
"If you weren't gay then it would mean nothing. You would marry a woman and your genetic DNA would alter the very first time you mated with her so you would be able to impregnate her. Since you are, in fact, gay, then your DNA will alter to allow you to become pregnant when you mate with your husband," Wendiford explained.
Tal looked at his father in confusion, shaking his head.
"Tal, Son, you will, in essence, grow a womb the moment you mate with someone else for the first time."
Tal stiffened and an icy heat flowed over his body. Flashes of two people, two older, beautiful people, a man and a woman, passed through his head, the two of them laughing and talking with two men, both of them equally as beautiful as the first couple, and one of the men had been pregnant. Tal could see them as if looking through a fog. And with that picture he heard the sound of children laughing. Blinking his eyes rapidly when the pictures dissipated, he saw his parents still gazing at him awaiting his response.
Tal blinked, whether from the memory or the information they'd just given him he didn't know. Firmly aware of the fact they were warning him of something that would be life-altering.
"Wait… mate? What do you mean? You mean like have sex with?" Tal questioned, remembering the last thing his adopted father said.
"Not really." Markaela sighed. "Tal, I am Vermithian as well, and our people are created, hard-wired if you will, by the fates, the heavens, to recognize, to submit, to love, and be bonded to one or two other people for the rest of our lives. We can have sex with however many people, whatever species that we want with no adverse effect, but something happens to our DNA when we experience the release of our mate's orgasmic fluids in our bodies. Our hearts pound in our chests, our bodies fill with warmth, but we don't even have to wait for that moment to know that we have found our mate or mates. The minute we hear their voice our bodies are instantly drawn to them, everything about them calls to us." Markaela took Tal's hand within her own, her bright brown eyes wide. "However, after we are mated, that very first time, our bodies shift and adjust to accommodate itself to our partner so that we can continue our genetic line and heritage. The good thing is that we only carry for six months and can become pregnant again a year and a half after having delivered."
Tal looked at his adopted mother and nodded, finally understanding. Although…
"Why didn't you and Dad ever have any children of your own then?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow when he noticed his parents' shared look of trepidation.
"Because Dad isn't my korlisdian and he's unable to father my children. My mate died when we were both eighteen, before we ever had a chance to bond officially," Markaela stated, her voice choking on a sob.
She turned into Wendiford's arms and he pulled her close, holding her while she sobbed harshly. Tal felt horrible. He made his mother cry, which hadn't been his intention, but what should he have thought? He and Josie had always known they were adopted. Tal had been adopted at the age of six, according to the documents on the table, a mere three months after being orphaned. They had taken Josie in, at the age of nine, the year before him.
Tal glanced briefly down at the open folder and noticed it stated his parents had been chosen especially for him by the leader of another planet. Why would the leader of another planet care about him? And who the hell was Alpha King Agnistion? Tal turned back to his parents when he heard his mother sniffle, reminding himself to ask about his unknown guardian angel later.
"Oh, Mom, I'm so sorry." Tal wrapped his arms around her after his parents separated and she turned back to him.
"It's okay, honey, it was during the Destruction of 2410. He'd enlisted to fight for the GPA and had barely taken off in their shuttle to go to the training camps when a shock ray missile collided with it." Markaela inhaled deeply, exhaling on a shaky breath. "I felt it when he died. It felt like my heart, my mind, and my soul were being ripped in half. It was horrible. It could have been much worse had we completed the mating fully and had I been carrying his child. A piece of me would have died with him and I would have felt disjointed, incomplete for the rest of my life. And to be honest, I did for a time, but…" She looked up at Wendiford and smiled. "I met your father three years later and it was love at first sight. He was the first true humanoid that I could tolerate outside of other Vermithians. We met in GPA Academy and Leadership University. We were married four months after meeting."
Tal smiled slightly when his parents kissed each other softly, his own worries easing momentarily in the face of their obvious affection for each other. Even at the age of fourteen, Tal knew his parents had something special and something he wanted. They weren't true mates, yet seemed to still be made for each other in some way. Could it be possible that being with his true mate would be even better than being with someone that he just fell in love with?
When their gazes returned to his face, however, the reality of his situation came crashing back down on his head and his heartbeat sped up and his hands became clammy with sweat. He had a mate out there. Some man created just for him and they would get together and he would get Tal pregnant… pregnant. And what if fate didn't know he was gay and his mate ended up being female? What the hell would he do with a girl?
"So, how am I supposed to know who my mate is, exactly? And what if they're a female?" he questioned hesitantly, his voice wobbling and at a higher pitch than normal in the face of his fear and uncertainty.
"I sincerely doubt fate would have you be gay and then bond you with a female, Son." His father pointed out with an indulgent smile.
Tal blushed, but it had been a genuine question. He grinned when his father leaned over his mother to reassuringly pat his knee.
He shrugged when his mother chuckled softly.
"You'll be able to tell as soon as you're around them. Their smell, their presence, their voice, all of it will feel like a blanket being wrapped around you, making you feel warm, safe, and protected. Also, you'll be able to tell when you touch for the first time." Markaela smiled softly.
Tal could tell that she was remembering her korlisdian and he looked over at his father to see if he reacted. Seeing nothing but love shining in his father's eyes, Tal's heart clenched even as he sighed in relief. His parents loved each other fiercely and a part of him wanted that himself… a very small part. His mother took in a deep breath and Tal refocused his attention on her.
"After that it will be nearly impossible for you two or you three to be apart from each other, without feeling as if you are going to climb the walls and destroy everything around you. It's pretty hard not to know who your mate is. And you will find yourself not caring about where you are or who is around you because all you'll want to do is to make love to them or have them make love to you," she pointed out.
Wendiford gasped and Markaela merely lifted a shoulder.
"Don't you think he's a little young to be thinking about making love, darling?" Wendiford asked, giving Tal a small smile.
Markaela laughed in delight and patted her husband's cheek with the open palm of her right hand. "Oh, stop being a prude Mr Edifice. You know we Vermithians talk about sex frequently. It's like talking about the weather. I know you've never been comfortable with it but Talon is Vermithian and he's going to talk like this himself. Besides, he needs to know; he could meet his korlisdian at any time and he's going to want to know why it seems as if he needs to always be with that person, why he seems to crave them, and why it seems as if they aren't making love, or touching, or talking, or even in the same room together in some way, he'll feel the need to hunt his mate down. If we don't tell him, someone else will, like Josie, or maybe he'll ask one of his friends, or go and look up the details. He could get the wrong information. He might even ask his friend from that chatroom, what's his name?" Markaela snapped her fingers. "Mail S! He might ask him, and what will that Tumaron boy be able to tell him about being Vermithian and finding his mate?"
Markaela looked back over to Tal and smiled lovingly. "Talon, honey, meeting your mate is the most amazing thing in the world."