She hated her round face and rounder body. One last glance at her body and she snorted, totally unimpressed with what she saw.

Pulling aside the glass cover and looking out, she noticed the male and female that lived across the way. "When the Earther Originals showed up on Sigma V, the Horde should have fought them instead of welcoming them like meek duckers."

* * * *

If there was any small blot in H'lish's existence, that blot was named Jonah Wallace. Original Jonah was the third resident artist in Denili. But no one ever saw him. H'lish wondered how he avoided the news seekers. She really disliked secrets.

* * * *

"Sorry, H'lish. It's not like I meant to break my leg." Rayton shoved the box of art supplies toward her and grinned. "Now it's your turn to take the supplies to Original Jonah."

* * * *

The trees gave way to a clearing, a ledge really. Beyond that the land fell away so sharply H'lish knew one would be injured if falling over. A large outcropping of rock jutted up in a sort of cliff that drew her forward. She scrambled up on a large warm rock and almost moaned at the perfect view.

A rock rolled away to her right. A leaf crackled as if stepped on. Some out-of-sync noise behind her made H'lish look over her shoulder. Instantly her heart thumped wildly, her mouth went dry and her skin turned cold. A man stood in the shadow of a tall Dingi pine. 

* * * *

Impressed was not something that happened to Jonah Wallace often. He rarely saw anyone worthy of attention, much less further study. But the sight of that young woman sitting on his rock, savoring the mild breeze and wash of color that brushed across the sky, impressed him...

* * * *

H'lish overslept the next Seventh Day. She was to walk with her best friend Fanshe. Changing her clothes to more rugged wear, she took a transport to the rendezvous point to wait. After what happened to that young Horde female months earlier, she didn't feel comfortable being alone. More importantly though, she feared something might have happened to her friend. She reached for her vid cell.

By some quirk of fate, Fanshe's vid number was listed in the directory above D'vant's, Original Jonah's housekeeper. When someone bumped her shoulder, she accidentally dialed D'vant's number. At that point, the cell flew out of her hand and landed on the ground just as H'lish's body fell forward practically on top of it. A hand in the middle of her back held her down, and a muscled arm wrapped around her neck. I can't breathe! H'lish struggled to throw off her attacker, keep her panic under control and breathe at the same time.

Then she heard D'vant's voice. Not knowing what miracle made her dial that number instead of Fanshe's, H'lish screamed and struggled even more, making enough noise to hopefully let D'vant know there was a problem.

Her struggle was short-lived however. No one spoke as a needle pierced the skin of her arm. A hot burst of serum later, she felt like she was floating. Before she blacked out, she remembered screaming, "Tell the man! Tell the man!"