The Vulami Mating Ritual

Author's note: This story is a stand-alone continuation of "The cat from another world".

I was moving through the lower decks of the cruiser, carrying a backpack full of supplies. I didn't normally volunteer to be a fetch-and-carry, but I owed Lila a favor. At least that's how I saw it. When I came back from my last mission, she had expertly stitched me up without even once asking me how I had gotten what were clearly claw marks from where a giant cat had been tearing at my clothes.

She had asked for lots of food and drink, to be stored in her quarters where she said she'd be cooped up for a while. I didn't know a lot about vulami feeding habits -- of the three types of non-humans living onboard, they were the ones I knew the least about. I figured I'd play it safe and just get lots of Mellion, since it was basically just water with sugar and vitamins added -- typical of the thing we'd put in rations. I also brought lots of standard marine rations; square cakes packed with fat and protein, wrapped in sealed packages so it would last for months. Not very tasty, but worked a treat when hiking out in the wild, so I figured they'd work for whatever Lila was doing as well.

I knocked on her door. She had her own private quarters -- not like us grunts who shared, four to a room. Not sure whether it was her status as a medic or vulami female, but I envied her all the same. After waiting for a few seconds, the doors slid open and I stepped inside, taking off the backpack and putting it on the floor.

"There you go, Doc. Mellon, lots of it, and two kinds of dried rations. Wasn't sure what you liked, so..."

"It will do, thank you." her voice answered from inside the room.

It didn't seem very big, but still bigger than any quarters I was used to. Nice bed, a work station, small kitchenette area... Separate bathroom, too; we didn't get those. The place was dimly lit, as I knew the vulami liked it. Again it occurred to me that I didn't really know much about them. I thought I should make a bit of an effort to change that.

"Can I get you anything else, Doc?" I asked, going further in.

"No..." she replied, stepping out to meet me. "Unless you were able to find some Phanaluiquine tablets?"

"Sorry. I tried one more time at the med bay like you said, but they told me that last solar flare a week ago burned through the transport's electronics. They're still searching for the ship, but so far, no new supplies."

"I... I see."

She seemed dejected. Apparently, those pills were important to her.

Lila was quite small, even for a vulami. They were usually about 5 feet tall, but she was not much taller than 4. She was also pretty lean. I stood there and studied her a bit. Three fingers on each hand, this I knew. Long and slender fingers, like a bird's claws, one of them opposable like our human thumbs. Her feet had two long toes with some kind of skin in between. She had clearly been filing her nails down -- she was still holding the file in her hand and all of her nails were a lot shorter than I remembered them.

Otherwise the vulami looked quite like us: humanoid, with small, flat noses, a mouth with wide teeth and two big eyes giving them excellent binocular vision. I'd heard that a vulami due to join us as a sniper next month had apparently broken every record in the books at the academy. They had skin that seemed similar to ours except for a distinctly light-blue tint. They didn't have any hair on their heads, though. Instead they had what looked like reptile scales, but weren't. Maybe that was something I could learn more about.

"So, I was wondering..."

"You... need to leave now." she interrupted me, rubbing the sides of her head as if trying to stop a headache.

"Okay... I'll just... are you all right, Doc?"

"Just... leave..."

"Gotcha."

As I was turning to leave, I remembered I really needed to pee, and the bathroom was right there next to the door. It was a bit of a walk down the corridor, so I jumped in.

"I just need to hit the head real quick, hope you don't mind..."

"Ah! Don't..." she started to say and then I didn't hear the rest since the sound of the toilet drowned out anything from the outside. I didn't spend long, though, she clearly wanted me out of there.

"All done, Doc. I'll be out of your..." I stepped back out from the bathroom and was about to leave when I noticed that she was sitting on the bed, breathing frantically. Getting a bit worried for her, I walked over to her bedside. "Hey... Seriously, are you all right?"

"Mákú...! Go... out... hurry!" she said between clenched teeth.

I was conflicted. If she was in trouble, I felt more like helping her out than leaving, returning the favor she'd done for me. Also, it was pretty basic training to call for a medic if a shipmate was in pain like she seemed to be. Then again ... she was a medic, so...

"You sure you don't need help, Doc? You're sweatin' like a..."

"Too late... too late... mákú... go... go... away..."

"O...kay..." I eventually said and started to move away from the bed.

Then I realized her hand was on my collar. Holding me back. I pulled away and she lost the grip. She was staring at me, her eyes actually changing to a different color as I was looking. It was unsettling. Then she lay back on the bed, still breathing heavily. She closed here eyes and mumbled something in her native language.

"Massss... issasss... ethhesss..."

I heard a click from the door and began to think that maybe it really was time for me to leave, as she had told me to. I quickly went to the door and pushed the opener. Nothing happened. I pushed it again. Still nothing.

"Central, open quarters C74."

"Error, cannot comply. Emergency seal engaged."

"What do you mean, error?"

"Emergency seal engaged."

Computers. Stupid fucking things.

"Who activated the emergency seal?"

"Medical assistant first class Lila Vezzis."

"Lemme guess, she's the only one who can open it again?"

"Confirmed."

I looked over at her. She looked like she had a fever dream, mumbling and spasming on the bed. I doubted she'd be able to open anything right now. Unless I could get her to do it, though, I would be in here a while. I was technically off duty, so it would be a couple of days before anybody really missed me. I stepped over to her again and tried to get her attention.

"Doc... hey... Lila. Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

She seemed delirious and just kept repeating herself, over and over: "Mm... mákú... go away... mákú... go... away..."

Suddenly, her hand grabbed my upper arm. She started squeezing it. Hard.

"Ow... ow! Holy sh... OOW!"

At first, I had moaned in a sort of reflex. Now, though, it really started to hurt. A lot. This little girl had a strong grip. I tried breaking free, putting my free hand on hers and tearing her loose. She then took hold of me with her other arm and pulled me down on top of her. At first I wasn't sure what was going on, but then I felt her teeth sink into my shoulder.

"AAAH!" I screamed as the searing pain spread through me from her strong bite.

I pushed her away as hard as I could. She sprung to life, jumping up from the bed. Then she attacked.

With a thud, we landed on the floor. Lila on top of me, hissing and growling, me down on my back, trying me best to hold her at arm's length.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted at her.

"Hissssss..."

She seemed like she was on drugs or something, completely out of control. She was drooling and foaming at the mouth, arms flailing, screaming and growling as she tried her best to scratch my eyes out.

"Lila!" I shouted, trying to break through to her.

I managed to push her away and get to my feet. It didn't last long -- she came right back at me and grabbed me. For a second, though, it was like I could see a bit of clarity in her eyes, and her voice returned for a moment as she managed to fight through this thing that had possessed her and give me a final:

"Mmmmákú... fffight me... sssstay... alive!"

After this, what came out of her mouth was incomprehensible. Just growls and garbled screams. She jumped me. Started hissing and growling again, like a wild cat in a fight for her life. We stumbled around the room, almost falling over, but I managed to stay upright. I tried to keep her off me but soon she landed another bite, this time in my upper arm.

"Uurrrrgghh" I growled and pulled at the back of her head to get her off me.

I punched her. Hard. Right in the head. I immediately regretted it. The blow sent her flying backwards to land on the bed. She stopped moving. I rushed over to her.

"Lila, are you all right?"

She was knocked out, but breathing. Dammit, I thought. I'm a marine, I should be able to handle a four foot nothing little girl! I checked her vitals and didn't find anything wrong, but then I didn't know her anatomy that well either. She wasn't wearing much, just a thin robe, which had been pulled almost off in the commotion. She didn't seem to be bleeding, though. Unlike me. Dammit, that was gonna leave a mark. What the fuck was going on, anyway? What was that word Lila kept repeating? A thought occurred to me. There was only one person I knew who might be able to explain any of this.

"CeCU, call professor Gupta, urgent."

The Central Communication Unit was connected to everything -- it must be able to find her, even if she was busy. A couple of seconds passed, then a familiar scholarly voice appeared:

"Gupta here."

"Professor. Beck here. Er... you might recall, from ..."

"Oh, yes, how are you, is the wound from the panthraxi healed?"

"Yes, completely, thanks. Listen, I have a question ... didn't know who else to ask. What can you tell me about ... 'mákú'?"

"Ah! You are studying the vulami? Yes, now, that is interesting. I am pleased to hear that you are interested in such matters -- you must really have gotten a taste on your last mission. We have twenty of the vulami on board, you may know some of them, and twice a year, they go through the cycle known as 'mákú'. Did you know I actually wrote a dissertation on this at university? I was working with a doctoral student ..."

"Yes, professor..." I interrupted, trying to get her on focus. "Is it like a disease or something?"

"Oh, not a disease, no. It is part of their reproductive process, specifically relating to their mating rituals."

"Oh..."

"As for how it manifests itself, well, for the males it is not really much of an issue. Some changes in the chemistry of the brain, possibly altering the behavior pattern somewhat, but these are instincts that can be overruled by rational decisions. The females, however, that is something altogether different."

"Go on..." I listened intently.

"There has only been a little bit of advanced physiological research on this, most of what we know is from culture studies, but it is clear that the condition does change the females' body chemistry quite a lot. I would love to do more proper scans and blood tests, but it is difficult to obtain a subject that can be... well, handled. That is why the females lock themselves in their quarters twice a year -- you may have noticed this, yes?"

"Yes... I... may have noticed." I said, throwing a glance over to the flashing red light on the door lock.

"Their condition is today mostly managed by medication. There was actually a new drug released a few years ago ... what was it called..?"

"Phanaluiquine?"

"Yes! That is it. You have a recent file to study, I see. From what I hear, this drug does seems to be rather effective at moderating the condition, but even with such supplements, they suffer through some significant hormonal changes."

"What about without medication?"

"Ah, yes, the natural process. Very interesting, this does bring back some memories from my uni days. The females go through such a strong hormonal change that they actually begin to lose rational thought. They are reduced to their basic instincts, caring only about mating. This lasts for a few days, until the mating process is completed."

"Days, you say..." I mumbled as it dawned on me that I might actually be stuck in here for that long. Until the professor continued:

"However, if no mating occurs, it can last for weeks."

"What?"

"Yes, that is why they manage the condition with medication today -- otherwise they could not interact with other people at all."

"Why is that? They'd hump anything that moved?"

"Oh, it is worse than that."

Worse? Great.

"The actual mating rituals are quite brutal. As I said, the females are devoid of rational thought at this point, losing even their ability to speak properly. They will attack any male they come across, and attempt to kill him. Only if he manages to defeat her, will she allow him to mate with her. From an evolutionary point of view, it really is quite ingenious, as it ensures that only the strong males are able to father offspring. Over hundreds of thousands of years, this has become an integral part of vulami culture. They still perform these rituals to this day -- on their home planet only, of course."

"I see."

"This is also why the female vulami tend to isolate themselves at times when living in human societies; during mákú, they will either seriously harm their partner or force their partner to harm them. Even though modern medications such as Phanaluiquine work quite well, some of the vulami still do not entirely trust themselves, so they lock themselves in during the most intense phase. This is why I have, sadly, not been able to study their condition while being stationed here on the ship."

"Thank you, professor, most enlightening."

"My pleas..."

I ended the call. My heart sank. Now I knew why Lila had attacked me. Not her fault, she couldn't think straight. No wonder she'd asked for that medication. But weeks? I couldn't fight this wild beast for that long. Not without one of us getting badly hurt. And what about food? Good news there, at least. I looked down at the bag I had brought for her and it was clear that these rations were supposed to last a good long while.

I started looking around the place for something to stop the bleeding from my shoulder. Being a medic, she probably had lots of stuff lying around. I managed to plug the punctures in my skin with some compresses from a drawer. While I sat on a chair, looking to the injury, I heard growling from the bed. I looked up and saw that Lila was coming to. She was looking directly at me. Then she slowly started moving into a crouching position.

"Shit."

Over the next hour, we did a whole dance routine in Lila's sealed chambers. She would jump at me, I would fend her off. I trod a delicate balance, defending myself as best I could, but desperately trying not to harm her. I knew very well that I could kill her quite easily. My military brain had already lined up four or five ways I could do it: snapping her neck, choking her, cutting her arteries with the nail file on the floor... I didn't want to do that, though. I really really didn't want to do that.

This kid was how old? Twenty? And she had a family at home, too, she had told me about them the last time we met. They were apparently really proud of her for taking this posting on an interstellar cruiser, working to serve the alliance between her people and ours. And she did good work. Really good. Now we had to send a message to her family to say that she'd been killed because she'd lost control and attacked one of her own soldiers? Fuck that.

She wasn't making it easy for me, though. I couldn't believe how much force I had to use just to pin her down. As I got on top of her and used my body weight to hold her, I could feel how she lifted herself off the floor under me. Her whole body was like a steel spring. She growled and bared her teeth at me like a wild animal. I was grateful she had filed down her claws too, because those things scratched me everywhere. My shirt got torn, so that wasn't much good for protection either.

Then, for just a few seconds, I could feel her resistance dropping. As I lay on top of her, holding her wrists and pinning her to the ground, her legs spread and she pushed her pelvis up at me. Staring at me with frustration in her eyes, she then did it again, insistently. I didn't notice this at first since I was focused on the threat of her kicking legs and sharp teeth at the time, and when I failed to respond within a few seconds, she once again started growling and squirming to break free from my grip.

When it happened again, I remembered what the professor had said. This was a mating ritual, after all. Yes, Lila was trying to kill me, but if she didn't manage it, she'd want me to ... Well, that was the idea. Probably how she'd been raised. Both part of her culture and her instinct. It was probably what she expected. That if I managed to avoid getting killed, I was going to fuck her. This became even clearer when it happened for the third time, and I once again didn't do what I was supposed to.

Lila seemed to grow more and more frustrated. She was crying, howling and screaming as I failed to take my prize. Her whole body shaking and still trying to fight me off, it completely resembled a woman trying to fight off an attacker who was trying to rape her. But that wasn't it. I understood it now. I was supposed to do this to her: fight her into submission and then, once her body found me worthy and lowered her defenses, pounce on her and claim my reward. For hours, she would be fighting me, and it was like her body was screaming obscenities at me, telling me: "Die! Fuck off! Leave! I'm gonna kill you!" Then, for just a second, it would shift to: "Fuck me! Breed me!" and if I didn't pounce on the opportunity, she would revert to the struggle again.

"Dammit." I said out loud as I felt my erection push at the inside of my trousers. There was just something about this that made it happen -- being on top of a girl who wanted me to take her and breed her... It just made my dick hard. And the longer I sat there on top of her, the harder it got. I couldn't take my clothes off, though, since I needed both hands to hold Lila down and prevent her from attacking me.

Her robe had been torn off by now, so she was completely naked. That shiny, pale blue skin seemed entirely unspoiled -- she looked as pure as an angel. She didn't have breasts like a human, but there was a small slit between her legs where a foamy substance came out as her body prepared for mating. The smell of her was intoxicating and made it difficult to resist having my way with her. The whole thing just made my dick even harder. I could feel it throbbing against the fabric of my clothes.

"You really want this? Do you?" I said, looking down at her.

She snapped at me, her teeth clicking loudly as they missed me and hit nothing. She started kicking and screaming again; her arms I could control, but her legs were kicking at my back and upper thighs. It didn't exactly feel good. The sound of her voice growling and hissing at me was only interrupted by my own groans of pain every time she made a good hit. I wasn't letting her win, though. Sitting on top of her on the floor like this... I had her.

There it was again. Her legs stopped kicking and wrapped around me. Her pelvis started pushing up at me, angrily. Her voice changing from violent hate to frustrated pleading. The look in her eyes...

"Fine." I said, quickly pulling down my pants.

When her hands were free, she didn't use them to swipe at me. They came around me instead. I aimed my cock at the small opening between her legs, and thrust down on her.

Lila groaned and her eyes slid up to the back of her head. She started breathing through her nose, calmly, her whole body relaxing. Her opening felt different to that of a human female -- not surprising, I guess. It felt a bit like having anal sex: a very tight sphincter, then softer inside. She was warm and slippery from all those juices that were running out of her. The sound of her quiet moans made me feel great. Like I was a king who had just conquered a country.