of a menacing scowl to show through. Those fierce features would have been impressive; however, the eyes made him beyond compare.
His eyes iridesced the pale lavender of an amethyst crystal; the glimmering depths rimmed with a grey band the hue of desert storms that brought rain to the thirsty reaches of a wasteland.
The intergalactic male had a face of dreams. It was the face of prurient, illicit dreams – the types of dreams that had driven Amelia to consider the damn lovers conference in the first place.
To distract herself from the twist in her thoughts, Amelia asked, “What do they mean then?”
“A haltha is an animal of this world – I will show you one.” The corners of his lips tilted upward, ever so slightly.
That man is doing to have a devastating smile when – if ever he uses it.
“ Alahi is what I’ve been calling you. Humans take names, yes?”
“We don’t take them – they are given by our parents, unless for some reason we desire to change it once we are adults.”
“Then what name were you given?” At Amelia’s silence, the male shrugged, “I can just continue to call you Alahi then.”
“What does it mean?” There was undoubtedly a meaning behind the name and as a linguist; Amelia wanted to know what it was.
“Spirit – ever since I saw you take on the collectors at the space port, what struck me was that you still had one.” The man was strangely honest – but the genuineness drew the answer to his question from her.
“Amelia. My name is Amelia.”
*
Galtan rolled the name around in his head. Amiilya…Amiilya.
“Amiilya?”
“Yes. Amiilya Glass.” Why did she add to it? Is ‘Glass’ in addition to Amiilya or is it all the same?
“What is the Glass?”
“Glass is my family name.” Galtan wondered if something on his face gave away his confusion when she extrapolated. “Humans often bear their family name – most often passed down the paternal line. Glass was my father’s family name.”
“So, you take your father’s name as a family name?” There were a couple of races that took a parents’ name, but Galtan had only ever heard that indicated by ‘son of…’ or ‘daughter of…’ – never had he heard just the name.
“Not exactly,” Amiilya answered. She paused, pressed her full lips together, as she looked for an explanation. “What is your name,” she asked.
Galtan was a bit surprised, granted he had not considered what he would have the human call him; yet, to be asked outright was surprising. She is probably looking for a comparison , his ever logical mind suggested.
“Galtan.”
“Is that all you go by? Galtan?”
“I also go by ‘Lord Commander of the Armies’”
“That is a title,” Amiilya commented. “Are you the only ‘Galtan’ on this planet?”
“No. While ‘Galtan’ isn’t common, I am not the only one.”
“If all of those bearing the name Galtan were put together in a room and someone wanted to address just you, how would they specify you from the other ‘Galtan’s?” It was an odd question – apparently Amiilya was an intellectual sort.
“I would be Galtan of Aruthga’ly.”
“What is Aruthga’ly?”
“A clan of Amirak-Renians.” Galtan could tell she was about to ask another question, so he pre-emptively addressed it; “This is the super planet Amirak-Ren.”
“OK.” Whatever that articulation means… “So, are all of the Aruthga’ly related?”
“In a way.” Reproduction was a complicated issue on Amirak-Ren, Galtan preferred to keep his human focused on names; the reason there was a market for human slaves on Amirak-Ren could wait for another passing of the suns.
“Well I guess that is the closest comparison you have here. Glass would be the name of the clan that I hail from on Earth.” She glanced around the room, Galtan could sense another question