Sabledrake Magazine
February, 2003
Feature Articles
CTF 2187: Past and Future Intertwined
Regular Articles
Resources
A Love Foredoomed
Copyright © 2003 by Kimberly T.
Tiss sighed as she looked out upon the lush green foliage of her home… a paradise that was also a prison.
She bitterly supposed, and not for the first time, that some of her kin would have gladly traded places with her. After all, here she had food aplenty, the weather was always perfect, and there was no fear of being attacked and killed by the dreaded Night Flyers. Oh yes, she had the easy life! So long as she was content to say in one place, never roam, not even go for a nice long walk… She knew that if she tried, all too soon she'd run into that damnable invisible barrier. Invisible, and unbreakable; she'd tried time and time again to rip through it and get out, but nothing had worked. All her efforts had ever accomplished was to draw those alien beings that had imprisoned her back from wherever they had wandered, to mockingly tap at the invisible walls of her prison and make those hooting and honking noises that she could only assume made up their alien language.
She'd long since given up trying to learn the language of her alien hulking captors or teach them hers; they didn't seem to have any interest in communicating, only gawking rudely. At first she had tried staring back just as rudely, to convey the impression that she found them utterly disgusting in every way, but now she just tried to ignore them in an attempt to keep what shreds of dignity she had left. Though she still swore to herself that if only she could get within reach of the tender flesh at their necks, she would…! It was a thought to savor, even though she knew it was as improbable as suddenly falling up instead of down.
She had been here so long that she was beginning to forget what her true home was like; her home before she had been snatched away, taken far from her land on a truly bizarre conveyance and dumped into this paradisiacal prison. But thankfully--and she knew it was wrong to be thankful for it, but she was--she had a fellow prisoner to remind her of how it had been, and help keep the memories fresh. Her beloved Ying had been taken captive from a neighboring land much like hers, and one of their favorite topics of conversation were reminiscences of home.
"Tiss!" She heard her name and turned slowly, to see Ying approaching from a ways off. She nodded to him and gave a brief wave in greeting, and he stopped and looked at her in concern. "How are you feeling today?"
"…A bit off," she admitted. She knew it would do no good to try to lie to him; his eyes were too sharp, and too familiar with her body language. "But I think it's mostly from another fit of self-pity."
"Oh, Tiss… You know I'd get us out of here if I could, in a heartbeat. And if only one of us could go, I'd choose your freedom over mine… I'd die for you, Tiss, gladly," as he gave her a soulful look with those eyes that could convey so much.
"Oh, Ying," Tiss sighed, as once again she looked into those eyes and fell utterly in love with his bright spirit. There were times when, looking into his eyes, she could forget about the barriers and the aliens that held them captive and just enjoy being with him. "You're just too wonderful…"
To which Ying replied, as he always did, that she was even more wonderful, and then he launched into one of his spur-of-the-moment poems about her own eyes. Ying was a splendid poet, probably the best in generations, and once again as she listened Tiss felt her mood improve almost despite herself. She remembered fondly how, during a particularly black period two months ago, Ying had grimly set himself the challenge of creating an epic poem that celebrated each part of her body, thrice over… and had done it, too. His recitation had left her alternately sighing happily and almost choking with laughter; some body parts just didn't translate into poetry as well as others! But he'd cheered her up considerably, which had cheered him up as well.
But today, even poetry wasn't enough to cheer her up completely. When he was finished, Tiss looked back outwards towards the impenetrable barrier and said softly, "Do you think that… when we die… our spirits will at least be free of this place?"
Ying stared at her soberly. "I hope so." Then a measure of wry humor inserted itself into his mien as he added, "But for some reason, I'm in no pressing hurry to kill myself and find out." Then he went off, to see about catching something for dinner; he added just before leaving that in his humble opinion, Tiss would probably feel better after a full meal as well. After all, she was still growing…
Not growing much any more, Tiss thought glumly to herself as he left. She knew that she'd nearly reached her full growth already; her body was nearing full maturity. And that meant that soon she'd be ready to breed…!
Tiss and Ying had been in love since soon after their arrival in this strange habitat, and it wasn't simply a matter of having only each other for company; Tiss knew she would have fallen in love with Ying if she'd had over a thousand prime male specimens to choose from. But their love was platonic, more on the spiritual level than the fleshly one; they had yet to mate, or even suggest it to each other. In their culture, mating was done only to breed the next generation. And the thought of another generation coming into being within this prison, knowing only captivity all their days…
Tiss shuddered at the thought, and vowed that as much as she loved Ying, so handsome as well as kind, optimistic and generous of spirit; as much as she loved his gorgeous body and poetic soul, she would never, ever mate with him. Never!
But 'never' is a very, very long time…
One day, Tiss found herself quivering all over as she crouched on a sturdy branch in their home, and this time she knew her problem couldn't be explained away by a self-pity-induced malaise. She was ready to breed, and her body was screaming for a mate. Screaming in scent, with pheromones pouring out of her in a cascade even as she repeatedly warned Ying to keep his distance, to please stay away, please!
But he couldn't stay away, though he fought long and hard against it; his own body was responding to those pheromones with savage insistence, and eventually it won over his intellect. "Tiss, ohhh Tiss, oh Tiss!" she heard him screaming as he finally gave in and came crashing through the foliage for her. And her treacherous body nearly jumped for joy, even as her soul wailed in anguish.
"Tiss, Tiss, Tiss," he panted as he came up to her, as they instinctively went through the motions of the mating dance together. "Tiss, remember always… that I love you!"
"And I love you, Ying," Tiss said desperately as they danced together, closer, ever closer. "So much! I always will," even as she made the final turn and stopped, and her body made ready to receive him.
Breathlessly, he mounted her from behind, but paused just before completing the act that would make them physically mates. "Tiss…"
She craned her head back to look at him desperately; she was nearly on fire with need now, and could only beg him, "Please… Do it!"
"Yes… Yes!" he shouted as they joined together, moving in primeval instinct. "Ohhh, YES!" And he nearly radiated physical joy as he pumped away enthusiastically--
As Tiss realized that the worst prospect of all was now inevitable, that a new generation would grow up in this prison, would never know freedom--
And the crazy joy that had arisen and spiked when he'd mounted her and entered her was washed away under a wave of despair--
And despair was followed by savage rage, with no outlet for release--
And how dared Ying look so happy when his actions were condemning their children to captivity?!!
Her upper limbs lashed out--
* * *
"Hey, lookit!" Billy exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder. "Come here quick… They're doin' it!"
"They are? Really?" His buddy Zane hurried over to the terrarium that Billy was already staring into and crowded in beside him, nearly pressing his nose against the glass. "Sonuvabitch, they are! Finally!" He'd been waiting weeks for this, and now he hurried to turn on his camcorder, already mounted on a tripod for just this purpose: to catch the mating of his two pet praying mantises on film.
"Hey, do you really think she's going to--Jeezus!" Billy's eyes went as wide as saucers. "It really happened!"
"Whoa…" Zane's own eyes bugged out for a moment too, before he tried to cover it with a knowledgeable air. "See, I told you it wasn't just a myth. The female praying mantis really does bite the male's head off while they're mating. And now I got it on film! This'll win an award at the science fair for sure…"
THE END
Author's note: The 'urban legend' of the praying mantis' mating habits is only partly true. The act of the female killing and eating the male during copulation has never been observed in the wild. The cannibalistic aspect only occurs in captivity…