shy woman. "My virum will worry if I am gone long." She stated with eyes on the floor. "Even though you are with me?" Hope asked "Would you stay if you didn't have to worry about your mate?" "If that is what you'd like." Acris replied hesitantly. "Good then it's settled. Stay for a bit and if he's mad, we blame it on me." "He would not be mad, just worried my Uxorem." "We'll call him and tell him." Hope suggested. "Perhaps she was wrong, and the men were just overprotective rather than overbearing." Hope decided as she recalled the way the Anguis men led the woman around with one hand on their shoulder. Maybe that was their version of holding hands. Acris spoke into the comm and she heard the man on the other side state that if Hope desired her company, it was good for Acris to stay. "Great, Acris meet my friends John Paul and Tara." Hope was glad her friends had been given the language implant the moment they were rescued that way they could understand Acris. "Are you mated?" Acris asked Tara and JP. She appeared more comfortable now that she'd been formally introduced. "Oh god no honey!" JP stated while Tara repressed a laugh. Her friends didn't seem nervous around the alien woman. It was probably a good way to get them adjusted to the sight of the Anguis. "JP prefers male to females." Hope told Acris. Acris' eyes grew wide. "I think I misunderstand." Acris stated. "No you understand dear." JP said. "I prefer to mate with other males." "Humans can bear young with other males?" Acris asked in shock as her red color undulated. "No, a certain percentage of our males prefer other males." Tara stated almost clinically. "We don't have males like this among the Anguis." Acris responded as she considered JP. "You humans are truly different." Acris looked them over but attempted not to stare. "I like your hair." She said to Hope. Hope smiled at the admission even though Acris shied away thinking she'd overstepped her bounds. "It's okay to speak your mind here." Hope said encouragingly. "Do you want to touch it?" Acris reached out hesitantly then ran her hand through it. "It is soft like silk worm thread." "I like your skin color, how it changes." Hope admired Acris' subtly shifting hue. "What is the range of color?" Tara inquired as she sat forward on her bunk. "All colors." Acris stated as if it was obvious. "Really?!" JP said shocked and intrigued. "Would it be rude if I asked you to show us?" Hope asked curiously. "No, it is fine." Acris then proceeded to amaze them. She changed into all the colors of the rainbow, sometimes all the colors at once. Even her long dreads shifted color. "It's so we can blend into our environment." She said as she mimicked the wall behind her, almost disappearing. "That's wild and neat!" Hope declared. Things had been going from one crazy moment to the next, Hope hadn't had a chance to ask Viper much about himself. "This is too strange. What is to become of us?" Tara lamented. "Do not fear. The Anguis and our allies have rescued several species that are now thriving." Acris said comfortingly to Tara. Acris was clearly a caring woman. "How did you fight these virus creatures?" JP asked obviously comfortable with Acris. Hope would need to remind him it might be best to not get too close to any of the women, considering how the Anguis males behaved. JP was just so used to being one of the girls he might forget. Hope didn't want to see him hurt as everyone got accustomed to each other. "We were fortunate when the Morbo attacked our home world that it wasn't a full invasion and we were in the midst of the dry season. Many were lost but our planet was not as hospitable as the Morbo prefer. We learned quickly that the heat and UV light are their weakness." Acris explained. "Once we recovered a fraction we reached out to our allies, warning them of the threat. The Felidae were threatened next. Thankfully they were able to flee to a colony inside a safer zone." "That's