part 2
***
In less than an hour after we were aboard the shuttle, Harry was awake and looking around with confusion. When questioned he said he had no memory of coming aboard again, and virtually no memory of our walk in the valley. My superiors told me to tread lightly, but to try and find out what that plant was. The joys of being an underling.
"What is the last thing you do remember?" I asked from his bedside.
Harry was dressed in a green med lab gown, tucked under the blankets like a sick child. But he was radiating the same energy and life he had before. Nothing like what I expected after what I witnessed. The only difference in his appearance now compared to before was that his cheeks were still flushed a tell tale pink. But instead of giving him a fevered look, it just made him appear more like a healthy human teenager.
"The last thing I remember is..." He looked into the air like it held the answer there, frowning as he concentrated. "Is... Hmmm... We were climbing down the side of the valley, and then... you said something about wild animals!" He beamed up at me.
I nodded slowly. "Anything after that?"
Again he concentrated. It took longer than the last time. "there was... a... smell." He said quietly, as though he was not quite sure. "Yes?" I leaned forward. "Can you identify it?"
"I..." He shook his head sighing. "No. I can't remember it, just the fact that I smelt it. I don't think I have smelt it before though."
That was interesting, knowing about his knowledge of the plant life on this planet. "How do you feel?"
He gave me a confused look. "Fine. Why? What's going on?"
"Um, there was an incident in the valley." I said cautiously. "You had a run in with a plant which resulted in you, uh, loosing consciousness."
He blinked, then shrugged. "Okay, but I'm fine now. Did it effect you?"
"Nooo..." I drew it out, images of Harry throwing his head back and crying out with pleasure flashing though my mind. "Just you. We don't know how badly it has effected you, so please let us know if anything is not quite right with you, okay?"
"Well," Harry looked at me impishly. "I am hungry,"
I smirked at him. "You're always hungry." I said with affection and ruffled his hair. "You want some rations?" He nodded his head vigorously. Harry seemed to consume anything that did not move, especially liking tomato flavoured things. He said that they don't have an equivalent here. Tomato and fish are not present. Or at least not eaten. He doesn't like fish for food. He tried it, but almost turned green. Especially when I told him what it was. I wonder what their fish are like for him to react like that? But as I have said previously, perhaps the Iniri have different taste buds. I picked down the tins of tomato and sausage bolognaise sauce, and some other things that he likes and carried them back to his room.
Only the Iniri ambassador was not in his room when I got there. I checked the bath room and he was not there. Not in the showers. Not in the mess hall. Not in the med lab. Finally I went to the bridge to ask the computer to track him down. He was out side in the flower fields munching away on the grass.
Sigh.
"I thought you wanted some rations." I said as got closer to him. His back was to me, and he barely acknowledged me. He simply stiffened at my voice, then went back to picking flowers. These ones were blue with little yellow stripes in the middle of the petals. "Harry?" I asked when I was just a little behind him.
"I changed my mind." He said flatly still without turning to face me. I frowned. Did I detect a note of anger in his voice? "Are you alright?"
He turned to glare back at me over his shoulder, baring his teeth like a wild animal, before launching up at me with a roar. I was so shocked that when I was winded and on my back it took me a few seconds to realise he was attacking me! Punching and clawing at me with such fury and strength that was surprising considering his size and build.
"YOU!!!" He yelled at me while I blocked his gouging my eyes out.
"YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU!!!"
I yelped as he slashed my cheek with his finger nails, and then shifted my weight under him, and managed to grab hold of his wrists in my hands preventing him from damaging me further. I wrapped a leg around his hip and rolled us over so that I was on top of him. Harry fought and struggled under me, screeching and wild-eyed.
"Stop it." I hissed down at him, holding his hands up near his head. Instead he tried to take a chunk out of me with his teeth. I lifted up my weight and then sat down upon his stomach heavily. Harry let out a gasping grunt as he was winded, and all the struggle went out of him. He lay gasping and staring up at the sky for some moments, I too panting at the effort it had taken. It took me some moments to realise that I was aroused at the position we were in, and at the beautiful picture Harry made below me, like a conquered maiden. Harry looked me in the eyes for less than a second before closing them and looking away, whimpering pitifully. Tears started forming as he whimpered, and soon they were draining down his face into the grass.
I cautiously relaxed my hold on him, still keeping him pinned by me sitting on him. I wiped the blood from my face with a grimace.
"Like to tell me why you attacked me?" I asked coldly.
He glared up at me, teeth clenched as his breath hissed out. "You attacked me first." He growled. "I was merely returning the favour."
"What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?!" I think the expression used to describe the way he said that is incredulous. He started struggling again under me. Oh yeah, keep that up baby, just some place more private, yeah? "Look at me!" He cried. "I'm tainted!"
Quoi?
"Did you think I wouldn't notice because I was unconscious?" He continued ranting. "Well granted I didn't at first, but that's beside the point. Tell me why you did it? Was I was an easy target, all unconscious on the ground was was it simply that you were not getting any from your own mate? Why? I trusted you!"
"Hang on, hang on. Are you accusing me of raping you?!"
"Are you saying I consented?!"
At that I climbed to my feet and stepped back to allow a respectable distance between us. He used his elbows to lift himself up, still glaring hatefully up at me. "Harry, I did not rape you. I would never harm you like that."
"What's that in your pants then."
I took in a deep breath, willing both calmness and away of arousal. "I did not rape you. It was the plant in the valley."
He was on his feet and in my face. "WHAT?! Do I look stupid? Do you think I would not KNOW if there was that kind of plant here?"
"Not if you had never been in the valley before. And even if you had, you obviously don't remember it or you wouldn't be throwing accusations at your friend!"
Harry looked uncertain at that. Then upset. He hung his head for a moment before looking back at me with such misery that it made my heart clench. "I can no longer represent my people." He said quietly, before turning to walk the trail to his home.
I caught his arm to stop him. "Why not?"
He pointed at his face. I could see nothing wrong. "I am tainted. My people will never accept me now. Don't worry, a new representative will arrive within an hour. Goodbye." He wrenched free from my grip and ran into the jungle.
I watched him go, refusing to shed the tears of my own

part 3

***
The new Iniri ambassador was taller than Harry by maybe a few inches, and wore shimmering green clothes instead of the gray Harry had worn. Other than that this one looked virtually the same as Harry. Hell, I thought it was him at first. Only this one was colder, more formal. His eyes were more green than violet too. And I suppose when you really look closely the tips of his ears and the shape of his chin are different and instead of his hair being loose the top is pulled back and braided together leaving the majority loose down his back. This one wears his hands in his sleeves like a monk. This one has had his name shortened to "Ford" because of how long and complex his full name is. He speaks slower than Harry, cautiously at times, and his eyes are always darting about as though searching out a threat.
"I apologise for the delay." Ford bowed his head slightly at me.
"With your approval negotiations can continue."
"Before we do," I said. "What has happened to Harry?"
Ford blinked, then his eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"
Be diplomatic. Come on, you can do it. "Because, he left in such a state that he was unable to communicate why he was leaving. I consider him a friend, so if he is un-well... Please, I need to know."
The ambassador was not impressed. "You say that you are his friend and yet..." He clamped up.

"Look," I said, almost deciding screw political correctness and all that crap. "there was an incident involving Harry and a plant. Then next thing I know he 's running away from his position and you're here instead. If you could explain what is going on it would really be helpful."

***
Ford escorted me up the hill to the village. It looked exactly the same as it had the last time. When we passed the spot Harry and I climbed down to the valley below I shied my eyes away with shame. The things Ford explained to me made me furious at myself. I needed to make things right.
"Plants may aid in getting and keeping a child in our bellies," Ford had hissed at me when I told him what had happened to Harry. He didn't believe me. "but they don't put them there!"
Right. I must have seriously missed something, considering the amount of time I spent watch- huhm- observing Harry. Strange that I had not fully realised why there were no strictly "female" Iniri before Ford gave me a blank look when I asked how Harry , being MALE could get pregnant. But now I knew.
NOTE TO SELF: Iniri are both male and female in one. Male on the outside, female on the inside.
Hmmm...

The village houses were made of mud brick and branches for the walls and woven palm-like leaves for the roves. Some Harry/Ford look-alikes were wandering around the huts wearing red and yellow, picking plants and tending small fires. When they saw us, the yellow wearers all stood protectively in front of the red wearers, who I noticed all had bellies expanded to various proportions. I looked up into the trees and saw a huge city of tree-houses bridged together with intricate rope ladders. There were hundreds of Iniri up there, poised, watching Ford and I walk through the little land village. It was interesting. The Iniri in the trees were all dressed either in gray, green blue or violet.
I remembered what Ford told me about the social structure of the Iniri, and was surprised I had not picked up on it before. When Harry had first come aboard he had completely avoided anyone wearing white or violet, but then when they were wearing other colours he would be incredibly friendly.
Ford had explained that the colour coding was to avoid confusion.
Grey wearers were un-mated, un-bonded, and not looking to get a mate.
Violet were seeking a mate. Blue were bonded with no infants, green widowed and still in mourning.
Ford refused to comment about why he was wearing green.
Red were "with child", their bonded mates wearing yellow. For the safety of the pregnant one and the child they then moved down to the ground.
White were out casts, the tainted. In other words anyone who got pregnant without being bonded. The white wearers were housed in huts further out of the village beside the cliff face. According to Iniri law if a white wearer was not claimed either by the father of the child or another willing to take responsibility for them (which was incredibly rare), they were expected to throw themselves over the edge of the cliff to purify their social status or some such rot. They only had three days.
There was no way I was letting Harry anywhere near that cliff.

***
Harry was dressed head to toe in white, kneeling in the center of the hut, head bowed like he was asleep or praying. I don't know what kind of deity or what ever the Iniri worship. I had never asked. Ford stayed outside the door of the hut while I entered.
Harry's back was to me and if he knew I was there he only hunched over further. I lowered myself to my knees behind him and gently lifted the white square of silk-like fabric from the top of his head.
I placed the fabric beside us, and he stiffened as I began running my hands through the soft locks of his hair. I separated his hair into three segments like Ford had told me and began to plat it into a long, long rope. It took a long time as I was not at all practised in the art of hair styling, but eventually I reached the thinning ends almost down to his backside. I pulled the little leather ribbon Ford had given me out of my pocket and tied the ends off.
Harry had sat still through all of this, but as soon as I released my hold on his hair he turned his violet-green eyes to look at me over his shoulder, glittering with tears. The rest of his face was hidden behind the same silky material like a vail. He then turned his body around to completely face mine and bowed down laying his forehead against my knees. I patted his head gently, and we stayed like that for what seemed like a year. Then Harry sat up. I took the vail from his face and lay it on the ground with the other material.
"Why?" He asked, voice thick with emotions. I smiled and stroked his still pink cheek slowly.
"Because I like you." I said. "You shouldn't have to die for something that was not your fault." He was about to protest, but I cut him off. "Not another word about it." I said sternly and he obediently shut his mouth, nodding his head and lowering his eyes. I lifted his chin up so that he would meet my eyes. "I want to make things right for you. Will you accept me?"
He searched my face for a few seconds before lowering his eyes again and leaning forward to hug my chest. "Yes." I barely heard him sigh.
Even so, I felt my heart skip and my lower bits flare up. I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing and encouraging him to slide his arms around my waist.
"Come on," I urged him to his feet. "You don't belong in those clothes."
Ahem.
Ford met us out side the hut, expression grim as usual, but now holding out lengths of yellow and red cloth to us. Harry bowed his head in thanks and I wrapped the red cloth around his shoulders. He clung to it, hiding like a scared kid wrapped in a blanket. I wrapped the yellow one around my shoulders and then placed a protective arm around his shoulders as we escorted him out of the ground village and back down the hill to my shuttle.
Once we were out of the village and onto the path home I let Harry go frolicking for flowers as was his want. It was strange watching Harry flitter back and forth along the path gathering his plants and knowing according to Iniri law he was basically now my property. I was shocked at how... arousing the idea of it was. Foreign and yet enthralling. Imagine the things I could do to him. The things he would let me do because "it was his place"... But only because of that damned plant. If not for that, Harry would still be wearing gray. What will my superiors think?
Ford and I walked in silence watching Harry.
I wish I had understood the significance of the clothes beforehand. I wish I had bothered asking.
"Did you ever get a chance to uh, wear the red?" I asked the new ambassador. He frowned, eyes narrowing and mouth becoming a thin line.
"Once." He said. I waited, but he refused to say more on the subject.

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