Tale: Deep Space Diary Entry 2

Dear Diary,

I never used to write in my old diaries every day, but I kinda have to. There’s so much… going on? Not that I truly know of. Secret things. Lurking in the background. Schemes and plots.

Never been a fan of schemes and plots. The Temthans are not fans of them either. The males at least. Most of them seem pretty simple and plain-spoken. One of them, Lokra, has been really open about his life. He was recently ‘risen up’, as in he lived on a world where they’d dumped feral Thanatians and they’d picked his kind up and included them in the Temthan empire. Even the more normal females are pretty down to home. They do anything males do. Pretty equal.

But then there’s the Raptesses.

They’re always female. Much rounder, softer and way more attractive than other Temthans. They remind me of Phovos except far more manipulative and horrible. They want to swallow you. In so many ways. They’re kinda like priestesses, the main worshippers of their goddess, the Lady of the Cycle. The religion itself is called the Order of the Holy Cycle, and from what they’ve told me (they’ve told me a lot), it all boils down to the fact that existence is a constant cycle of life and death, and that it is the duty of the Temthans to live their lives to the full.

Somewhere down the line, that was interpreted as “eat, drink and fuck as much as you can.”

Thing is, as much as I dislike religion, I have no problem with that. It’s a peaceful, if backwards religion. Fine. But they keep on pushing it on me like some sort of cheap drug. They’ve already made me take part in their food and sex ceremonies. Now they want me to commit to the religion completely and make me a priest of this damn religion!

Worse, they keep on drugging me. Small amounts here and there. It’s not in my food or my drink, it’s the Raptesses themselves. Their claws, their fangs, their saliva, every part of them is tipped with this weak drug that makes me want to listen to them. I can’t avoid it, it gets absorbed straight through my skin. All they have to do is rub against me and poof, I start to feel weak and susceptible to their poisoned words. Their voices don’t help, like pouring warm sugar syrup into your ears. Everyone else hisses and growls, the Raptesses are… perfect.

In every way. They’re the pinnacle of evolution. And they want me. They want me so much. I can’t get away from them for long. Constantly beckoning me, for talk, food, sex, drugs, whatever. It’s not just annoying me, it’s annoying the male Temthans too.

I need to give them something. Anything to get them off my back, to satisfy them. I can feel myself slipping into addiction. It’s terrifying.

Maybe I’ll just pretend to follow their damn religion properly. Just until they finally take me home.

I’m going to need some sort of memory wipe when I get back. I’ll write again soon.

– Arkay