Nitis' dark sky appeared brighter than usual when Khan opened his eyes, but that feature didn't come from the nearing of the sunlight. The cold air felt sweeter when it entered his nostrils, and the small chunks of snow that had fallen on him during the night almost spread warmth through his body.

Those symptoms would usually grant anyone a visit to a doctor or a shrink, but Khan knew that he wasn't ill. His strange situation was the exact opposite of a disease. Those strange sensations came from what had happened during the night.

​​

Khan found himself lying on the ground with a white blanket covering his naked body. A cold sensation spread from his left side, but he felt only happy to recognize it. Liiza had fallen asleep after snuggling onto his shoulder and laying her head on his chest.

'I've become a man!' Khan childishly shouted in his mind before ugly thoughts attempted to taint his happiness.

The soldiers used their first kill to mark the passage from kid to a man. Thinking about that made Khan relieve the events on Istrone when a ten-year-old Kred had died under his blows.

Khan didn't let that memory ruin his moment, but another thought inevitably made its way across his mind and worsened his mood even more. He had finally experienced his first time, and he had even used condoms, but the event reminded him about his father and his last words before their separation.

'I listened to him even if you probably are a liar,' Khan thought as he imagined a mental conversation with Bret. 'I really hope you had good reasons, dad.'

"Hey, look at me," Liiza groaned in a cute sleepy voice while adjusting her position on Khan's chest. 'It ruins your warmth if you have unhappy thoughts."

Khan turned toward the beauty at his side. The blanket covered her naked body, her long white hair tried to hide her face, and her closed eyes blocked the glow of her stunning gaze, but she remained the most captivating view that he had ever experienced in his entire life.

Liiza gave voice to a sweet moan when Kahn wrapped his arm around her shoulder to bring her closer. His free hand reached her forehead to remove the strands of hair that had fallen on her face before adjusting the blanket to make sure that she remained covered.

A slight smile appeared on Liiza's sleeping expression. Looking at her had restored Khan's peace of mind and regulated his mana to a state that she could appreciate. Her sensitivity to that energy was almost scary, but Khan knew that it was so accurate with him due to the feelings that they shared.

"Did you develop an addiction to my sleeping face already?" Liiza teased without opening her eyes.

"Did you develop an addiction to my warmth?" Khan chuckled before leaving a kiss on her forehead.

"Just a bit," Liiza moaned while snuggling closer.

"You are doomed," Khan teased. "This evil human made you abandon your Niqols' roots."

"My species is missing out so much," Liiza whispered in her sweet voice. "I didn't think I could feel so hot."

"Someone liked it then," Khan whispered while nearing his mouth to her forehead to make her feel his warm breath.

"I wonder if it feels as good with a Niqols," Liiza said before giggling when she sensed Khan's body tensing up.

Liiza opened her eyes while revealing a broad smile and climbing on Khan's body. She lay on his chest and pointed her elbows on his shoulders to support her head and laugh at her boyfriend's frown.

"Is this the time when you go possessive on me?" Liiza giggled while bending her legs up and down to express her playful and happy mood.

The blanket fell off from her back and left both of them exposed. A faint wind also blew it for a few meters. Khan felt overwhelmed by that sight, and he failed to play along as his true feelings escaped his mouth.

"Your freedom led to where we are now," Khan revealed as he fell in a daze. "That's also how I imagine you in my mind. How could I even try to suppress it?"

Liiza's legs stopped moving and fell back on Khan. Their feet touched as her playful smile vanished, and she bent to kiss him.

"Hey," Liiza said when their lips separated, and Khan couldn't help but sense hesitation in her voice.

"What is it?" Khan asked as his hand reached her naked back to caress it.

"All humans are warm, right?" Liiza responded while diverting her gaze. "My body is cold. Was it a problem?"

Khan frowned again, but understanding eventually dawned upon his mind. His eyes widened when he managed to uncover the real meaning behind Liiza's words, and his arms inevitably reached her shoulders to push her on his chest.

Liiza kept her face turned toward the ground while she let Khan's embrace envelop her. The warmth coming out of his chest and spreading through her didn't help her doubts. It only made her more aware of the vast difference between their temperatures.

The warmth felt really good for a Niqols, but the opposite wasn't true for humans. Liiza was worried that her cold body could be a turn off for Khan.

Truth be told, that feature didn't cause any problem to Khan. He had felt overwhelmed by emotions and sensations during their first time. Mana also empowered his body, so it was more resilient toward things that would bother a normal human.

Moreover, Khan couldn't compare what he had felt last night with similar events. He didn't know how sex with a human was, and he didn't care about it with Liiza in his arm. She had given him the best experience of his life again. The problem was making sure that she understood that.

"The snow felt warm when I woke up," Khan whispered while diving into Liiza's hair and finding her nape with his lips. "You have no idea how warm you feel."

A tremor ran through Liiza when she felt Khan's warm lips on her nape. She didn't turn, but her grip on his shoulders tightened. Her black fingernails threatened to stab his skin, but he could sense the worry behind that gesture, so he didn't complain. Instead, his hug intensified as if trying to make her fuse with his chest.

"Are you sure?" Liiza hesitant voice resounded again. "I don't want you to endure everything by yourself."

"Enduring?" Khan laughed without moving his lips from her nape. "I'm probably the unluckiest sixteen-year-old in the world, but you still make me feel blessed. You can feel it, right?"

"I do," Liiza replied as she relaxed her grip on one shoulder to reach Khan's face and caress it softly. "I'm just worried."

"About?" Khan asked.

"Niqols feel more than humans," Liiza explained. "I'm afraid that everything will become too much for you one day."

Zalpa's words resounded inside Khan's mind again. He had already learnt that the Niqols experienced feelings differently from humans, but he didn't worry about that at all. He was actually looking forward to seeing how intense Liiza could become.

"Luckily I'm not completely a human," Khan sighed. "I'll learn to love like a Niqols."

Those words made Liiza shake again when they vibrated on her nape. She couldn't remain in that position anymore. She bent her back and turned to stare at Khan directly into his eyes. She was blushing, and her white glow had even intensified.

"Is someth-?" Khan started to ask when he noticed that something was off, but Liiza dived toward his lips before he could finish his line.

The kiss felt different than usual. Liiza wasn't showing the same lustful intensity as last night. Her search for Khan's lips appeared desperate as if her body demanded a dose of him.

"I'll teach you how to love like a Niqols," Liiza whispered when the two separated. "Make sure to keep up."

"Aye, aye, ma'am," Khan laughed before noticing that Liiza was biting her lower lip while moving sensually over his low waist.

Khan slowly straightened his position to sit on the ground. Liiza remained on his lap, with her legs spread and her wast pressing on his manhood.

"We can't," Khan expressed his frustration through his pleading voice.

"What are you saying?" Liiza teased him while moving even more. "You have been in this state since we woke up."

"Not that," Khan corrected her while trying to ignore his arousal. "We are out of condoms."

Liiza frowned before moving her face away from his forehead and searching for her tracksuit around her. Her frown intensified when she found it tied to a rock on the wall.

"Didn't you put it back into the item?" Liiza asked while turning to look at Khan again. "The item is in the robe."

"So?" Khan asked in a confused voice. "We used it already."

"Do the humans make disposable condoms?" Liiza questioned him before nodding when she saw Khan's eyes widening.

"Don't tell me," Khan gasped. "Can we use it again?"

Liiza only needed to continue to nod to make Khan abandon his self-restraint. Her happy giggle resounded when he pointed his feet on the ground and straightened his position while lifting her to reach the tracksuit.

.

.

.

'I love Niqols,' Khan thought as the wind blew on his face.

Snow dived, accelerated, and rotated on itself, but Khan didn't react to those events. His mind was busy playing the events that had filled the night and morning shared with Liiza. Each memory made him return to those incredible moments. He couldn't even begin to express how lucky he felt.

Neither of them had wanted to separate, but the nature of their relationship forced them to respect some compromises. Khan and Liiza had decided to return to their respective homes right before lunchtime to keep up appearances. The two had even chosen not to fly through the same path among the mountain chain for fear that their self-restraint would crumble.

'Do I love Liiza?' Khan wondered as he bent backward and lay on Snow's feathered back.

Khan was unclear about that topic. His insecurity didn't come from his feeling. He knew that there was something far deeper than the simple attraction between Liiza and him. However, his inexperience in the matter didn't allow him to realize if what he felt was the so-called love.

'Though, it's hilarious,' Khan thought as Snow dived and made his back leave the feathers. 'I can add my first time to the things that make me less human. Khan, no last name, sixteen years old, had his first time with a Niqols. Who can even refuse such a profile?'

Khan noticed the arrival of the ground from the corner of his eyes and bent forward to make his chest adhere to Snow's neck. The Aduns unfolded its wings to perform an abrupt stop mere meters from the terrain, but he barely felt that sudden event.

'She is so damned cute!' Khan cursed in his mind, and his thoughts never moved away from Liiza as he flew back to the training camp.

Khan remained immersed in his thoughts even after Snow dropped him on the ground and pecked his head a few times before setting off. The Aduns left the area, and Khan instinctively moved toward the camp's entrance. The first of the free days had basically just started, but he wanted to spend it training now that he was free of Liiza's constant temptation.

Still, a peculiar sight startled him awake once he reached the camps' entrance. Khan saw George sitting next to the fence with a metal cup held tightly in his hand. He initially believed the boy to be asleep, but a loud burp that came out of his mouth when he neared him proved otherwise.

"Khan!" George shouted when he raised his head and noticed the boy nearing the gate. "You are the damned besht of the besht!"

George then tried to stand up, but he swayed so intensely that he fell on his butt as soon as he tried to straighten his legs.

"I guessh mana doesn't make ush immune to booze," George announced as he raised his cup to drink, but the pink liquid in its insides fell on his uniform since his head kept swaying left and right.