Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Raising Dizyntk (scfi, no sex)







   Ariarisha Michaela Feyalisa Zerleen was born three years, or two dizyntk
cyankas, to the day of the crash that had stranded Feya and Michael.  Feya
saw this as a sign that her mother was watching over her and her child. 
She therefore gave her new daughter her mother's name, Ariarisha.  However,
while Feya's mother was known as Risha to her friends and family, Feya and
Michael would usually call their daughter Aria.  Aria was indeed a hybrid
of her parent's two races.  She had Dizyntk ears and a tail as well as the
teeth and retractable claws of her mother.  Her fur was the same color and
texture as her mother's.  It did not, however, cover as much of her body as
was normal in a dizyntk.  Mostly it covered just the backs of her neck and
arms.  It did not cover any of her back below her shoulder blades.  Her
eyes were definitely Terran, as were her lips which were somewhat fuller
than a Dizyntk's.  Finally she had inherited her father's five fingered
hands as opposed to her mother's four fingers.  Overall the features
blended nicely and Aria was an attractive child.  Both of her parents doted
on her and educated her as best they could.  It was decided that she would
be raised as a Dizyntk.  With the exception that, in addition to
Dizyntilin, she would also learn the three Terran languages that her father
spoke.  These were English, his native tongue, as well as German and a bit
of Japanese.  While Michael was only really proficient in his native
English, he did teach her what he knew of the other two languages.  Thus by
the time she was three cyankas old, she could talk in English and
Dizyntilin in the same sentence, with the odd word from the other languages
thrown in for color.  For the most part, however, the family used
Dizyntilin.  This was mostly for practical reasons.  While Feya had learned
to speak some English, she was not as proficient in it as Michael was in
Dizyntilin.

   As Aria had gotten to two cyankas, her parents began teaching her about
all the subjects they were knowledgeable in.  When Michael's occupation and
Feya's royal upbringing were taken into account the amount of knowledge
they had between them was considerable.  Thus, by the time she was three,
Aria was well on her way to learning subjects that most children her age
had not even started.  Feya was especially happy about teaching her
daughter of Dizyntk society and culture as well as her family lineage.  The
only thing that worried her parents was whether or not Aria would ever get
a chance to use what she was learning.  They did a good job of hiding these
concerns from her however.  During this time Feya had decided, and Michael
agreed, that they would wait until Aria had reached at least five cyankas
before they had any more children.  This way Aria would be old enough to
help raise her younger sibling.  They would not worry about being rescued
as they could do nothing to help it happen.  In the meantime, Feya was
enjoying raising her daughter and instructing her on what it meant to be
Dizyntk.  Feya was doing just that on the day that her people finally found
her.

   Feya and Aria were in the forested region about a kilometer from their
house.  Feya was teaching her child to stalk and hunt.  Being descended
from predators, dizyntk were fine hunters.  Although they no longer hunted
for sustenance on their worlds, the dizyntk still taught the skills to
their children as part of their heritage.  Thus Feya had been well educated
in these arts and she was taking great delight in passing them down to her
daughter.  Aria had certainly acquired her mother's incredible sprinting
speed to chase down prey.  However she had also received the ability to run
at slower speeds over great distances from her human genes.  Dizyntk were
not good distance runners, but humans were very good at it.  But at this
moment it was that sprinting speed, almost twice that of a human, that she
was using.  Feya and Aria had stalked a small herbivore through the forest.
Finally Aria had been told by her mother to catch it.  She caught it
quickly and, although she brought it down hard, it was not really hurt. 
She gave it a small scratch to show she could have killed it, then let it
go and it dashed off through the trees.

   Feya walked up, picked Aria up and hugged her.  "That was very good
precious", she said to her child, "You are making me so proud."

   Aria giggled and hugged her mother back.  "Thank you mother", she
replied, "This is fun, I love hunting with you."

   Aria had been taught that, eventually, she would have to kill the
animals she hunted for food.  But for right now it was only for practice
and exercise.

   There was suddenly a high pitched whine coming from the sky above them.
Mother and daughter looked up in time to see a large ship through the
canopy as it passed overhead.  Feya instantly recognized the markings on
the ship.  It was from the Imperium.

   She put her daughter down and said to her, "Quickly, back to the house."
They both took off and headed home.

   Michael was home finishing repairs on some small damage that had been
done during a storm two nights before.  He was on the roof when he heard,
and saw, the ship approaching.  It was going to land very near.  He
wondered how they had pinpointed where he was.  Then he remembered the
signal he had set up years before.  It had worked, that little signal had
worked!  Then he thought about the fact that the ship was dizyntk.  The
crew would not know that he was friendly towards them.  They would only
know that he was a human.  He knew that Feya and Aria were not too far
away. He hoped that they would get back quickly before anything unpleasant
happened.

   The ship set down two hundred meters away from the source of the signal
they had detected while searching this system.  Ship Captain Lefarsa was
excited but cautious.  His ship, like many dizyntk ships over the past five
Cyankas, had been sent to try and find the lost transport of Princess
Ariarisha.  The Imperium knew that she was most likely dead.  Only by some
miracle could she still be alive after all this time.  But that mattered
not to the Empress or her cousin, the Queen of the Second Star Cluster.  A
member of the royal family was missing.  Until she was found, either alive
or dead, then the ships of the fleet would continue to search for her. 
Captain Lefarsa hoped that a miracle had indeed happened.  His sensor
operators had quickly found the scattered wreckage of the transport.  They
also told him that the weak distress signal they had received upon entering
the star system was not coming from the crash sight.  It was coming from
another, smaller, vessel about 6 km from the wreckage.  While the smaller
ship was also damaged beyond repair it was intact, more or less.  His hope
faded somewhat as his ship descended to the planets surface.  As they
closed on the small ship, his sensors had finally been able to identify its
type.  It was a Terran messenger ship.  A Terran ship, but the signal it
was sending was in Dizyntilin.  He did not know what to make of the
situation.  He kept his passenger informed however.  Any Dizyntk ship that
had been sent to try and find the transport over the years had always had a
member of the royal family aboard.  It was usually a minor member, but not
always.  Standing next to the Captain on the bridge of the destroyer was
the brother of the Queen, Duke Ferkalum.

   "I do not know what we will find, Your Grace.", the Captain said, "A
Terran ship emitting a signal in Dizyntilin.  It is just strange."

   Duke Ferkalum grunted in agreement.  "I do not know what to make of it
either Captain", the Duke said, "However that wreckage is the remains of
Ariarisha's transport and the fact that the signal is in Dizyntilin means
that there may have been survivors.  Tell your troops to exercise
restraint."

   Michael had walked out to the ship after it had landed.  He knew that
they would be watching.  He stopped about 20 meters from the ship and
unclasped his holster belt, held it up, and then dropped it to the ground
and stepped back three paces.  Just then the ships ramp lowered and five
Dizyntk troops in armor descended and surrounded him.  Then three more
Dizyntk came out.  Two males and a female.  Michael did not know anything
about Dizyntk rank insignia but he assumed that the lead male must be
important, maybe the captain.  As the trio grew near one of the troopers
grabbed Michael's shoulder and pushed him down.

   "On your knees before the Duke, Human" she snarled.

   "Restraint, Guard Leader, restraint." the Duke said the trooper.  "He
may have information we need, besides have you thought that he may not
understand a word we are saying?"

   The trooper backed away from Michael and bowed to the Duke, "My
apologies Your Grace", she said, "You are correct as always."

   Michael kept his eyes down, figuring that this was proper before someone
of royalty and said in Dizyntilin, "I can understand her just fine, Your
Grace."

   The Dizyntk around him, except for the Duke, gasped a little.  A Human
speaking their language?  They had never heard of such a thing.  Duke
Ferkalum had not either, but he had already assumed that there had been
survivors from the transport.  If the human had been stuck here with them
the entire time, then it would be only natural that he would have learned
their language.

   He looked down at the human before him.  "So there were survivors from
the transport", he said, "How many?  Where are they?"

   Michael looked up slightly and replied, "There was only one survivor
from the Dizyntk ship, she should have seen your ship come in.  I would
imagine she will be here shortly." At least he hoped Feya would be here
shortly.

   Feya came within sight of the Dizyntk destroyer at a dead sprint.  She
had already told Aria to go inside and not come out until she called for
her.  As she ran, she recognized the armor of the Royal Guard.  She saw
Michael on his knees in the middle of them with weapons pointed at him. 
Just as the Captain saw her running at them and alerted his troops, Feya
came to a sliding stop about 10 meters from them.

   She was breathing very hard, but managed to say in a haughty voice,
"Have the Queen's Guard lost so much quality that an untrained girl can
approach this closely?  Had I been an enemy, half of you would have already
been dead."

   They all had their weapons pointed at her now.  As much out of
embarrassment as anything else.  She had been right about them allowing
someone to approach so closely before they had reacted.

   The Duke laughed at the comment, "Well said young lady", he said, "They
do seem to need refresher training don't they?"

   Feya looked at him closely for the first time.  She knew this person. 
It took her several seconds to place the face that she had not seen in
almost six cyankas.  She started to walk slowly towards the Duke, her eyes
wide with surprise.

   "Uncle Kalum?" she asked quietly, "it's me, it's Feya."

   Duke Ferkalum looked closely at the young woman before him and slowly
recognized her as the girl he had known as a child years before.  He strode
up to her and wrapped her in a hug.

   "Feyalisa, it is you, you are alive." he said, tears streaming from his
eyes.

   The troopers quickly lowered their weapons.

   Michael was still on his knees.  He had decided that it would be best to
stay there until he was told otherwise.  He looked towards Feya and her
uncle and cleared his throat.  Feya looked at him and then back at her
uncle and smiled.

   "Just how long are you going to keep my mate on the ground?" she asked
her uncle sweetly.

   Ferkalum looked at her with confusion.  "Your mate?" he asked her.

   She nodded and turned towards the shelter and called out, "Aria, I know
you are watching.  Come here." Aria ran quickly to her mother and Feya
lifted her up and turned back to her uncle.  "This is my daughter, uncle.
Her name is Ariarisha."

   The Duke could unmistakably see the family resemblance between mother
and daughter, as well as the mixed dizyntk and human features on the girl.

   The Duke smiled at the fact that the child had been named for his niece
and said, "Named for your mother I see."

   Feya smiled and answered, "Yes, she was born exactly two cyankas after
the crash.  I thought it appropriate."

   The Duke simply nodded at her then turned towards the others.  "Let the
human stand.  If he is the father of this child then that makes him
family."

   Michael got to his feet and walked over to Ferkalum.  "The fact that a
human and dizyntk can breed does not seem to surprise you." Michael stated.


   The Duke shook his head and said, "No it does not.  We have known this
now for about three cyankas." Then he smiled and continued, "But it appears
that the two of you found that out for yourselves." Then the Duke looked
somberly at his niece.  "The human said that there was only one survivor
from the crash of the transport", he said to Feya.

   She looked sadly downwards and replied, "Yes, uncle, no others besides
myself." Then she looked up at her uncle and continued, "Even I would have
died from my injuries if Michael had not saved me."

   The Duke nodded and looked at Michael.  "Thank you for saving her and
for protecting her all this time." he said.  Then he looked at Feya and
said, "Your mother's death means that you are now the Princess of the
Second Star Cluster." He then kneeled and bowed his head.  Immediately the
other Dizyntk did the same.  The Duke then looked up and said, "I have been
charged by your grandmother, the Queen, to return you to your home.", and
then he smiled and continued, "I am very happy that I am able to return
with at least one who has survived." He then stood and turned to the others
and ordered, "Prepare her highnesses belongings so that she and her family
may return with us."

   The troopers replied with one voice, "Yes, My Lord."

   "What do you need of us, My Lady?" asked the Captain of the Guard.

   "Please follow Michael", Feya said, "he and my daughter will show you
what we need.  It will not be much."

   The Guard Captain, Virathea, did not much care for humans, but her
Princess's orders were all that mattered.

   Feya put Aria down and said to her, "Go with your father little one. 
Gather your favorite things."

   Aria looked up at her mother, "Are we leaving mother?" the child asked.

   "Yes we are sweetest", Feya said, "We will not be coming back so choose
carefully."

   Aria looked a little sad, but said "Yes mother."

   As her daughter and her mate led the troopers towards their small home,
Feya turned to look at her uncle.  "We have things to discuss, don't we
uncle?"

   Feya knew that her uncle would want to know how and why she had chosen
to mate with the human.  Indeed he did, but such matters were not discussed
outside of family.

   "Come with me Feya", her uncle said, "We will talk about this in my
quarters."

   She followed him inside the ship and they went to the Duke's room. 
There, Feya spent the next hour telling her uncle all that had happened to
her since the crash.  Michael saving her, growing under his care.  About
the day that she had initiated the sexual relation with him that led to
their child.  And finally the raising of Ariarisha.  Also included was the
promise she had made to stay with Michael.  Duke Ferkalum listened quietly.
He had been truly shocked that a member of the royal family would mate with
a human.  As Feya's story came out, however, he began to understand.

   "I am still not fond of this human", the Duke said, "However, he has
acted honorably and he has protected you.  You have chosen to mate with him
and in that you have had a child by him." He fixed her eyes with his own
and continued, "You know what our customs say about this.  Will he take the
rite of bonding with you?"

   Feya smiled and with no hesitation said, "Of course he will, he loves
me."

   Duke Ferkalum hugged his grand niece and said, "Very well then.  It will
be interesting to hear what my sister says about all of this."

   Michael and Aria had taken only about an hour to gather those things
that they would take with them.  As Feya had said, it was not much.  Most
of what they had, or had made, during the seven and half years they had
been here were simply necessities.  What few sentimental items they had
could be carried by just two of the troopers.  After they had put these
aboard the ship, a more important service had to be performed.  Michael and
Feya had recovered and buried the remains of the dizyntk from the transport
years before.  Now the Royal Guard members went to disinter those remains.
It was an overriding principle among the Dizyntk that dead loved ones
should be returned to their families.  Feya's parents were done last, with
somber ceremony.  They would be taken back to the Dizyntk homeworld to be
buried in the Imperial cemetery.  Her mother would be remembered as an
example for all Dizyntk.  Her last act had been to save her child and thus
preserve the royal bloodline.  Feya cried a little during the ceremony, but
she had vented her painful emotions years earlier with Michael.  Afterwards
they went aboard the ship and lifted off from the planet's surface.

   Aria asked her mother, "Where are we going?"

   Feya knelt and stroked her daughter's hair and answered, "We are going
to meet my grandmother.  Do you know who that is?"

   Aria nodded her head vigorously as only children seem capable of doing
and replied, "She is the Queen, isn't she?"

   Feya hugged her and said, "Yes my dearest, that's right.  I hope she
loves you as much as I do."

   Feya had been hoping for this day, yet also dreading it.  She so wanted
to be back with her people and to see her family again.  But, she had her
own family now.  If her grandmother accepted them then all would be fine.
If not, well Feya had determined long ago that she would never leave
Michael and leaving her daughter was out of the question as well.  She
could only hope that everything would work out.

   Whether it will or not remains to be seen...............................