"Alexis"...

Alexis took in the fragrance of the girl as they brushed past one another, stronger now the signature of this lovely creature than first registered as she sat with her at the café, appreciated more fully as that lovely, dusky perfume followed her up the apartment building stairs, and now so wonderful and strong that Alexis felt compelled to pair it with every recollection she would ever have about this creature, this encounter. And for a moment, as she watched the girl step lightly away into the apartment's interior, she almost felt something a human might characterize as pity- regret that she had needs that would presently deny this creature of its independence, its uniqueness, and its very life. The feeling was fleeting, however, and as she followed the girl she re-focused her faculties upon making her newfound friend- her prey, feel completely at ease and intrigued at the possibilities of the acquaintance just made.

Curiosity, it is said, killed the cat, and in no less certain a fashion curiosity led to the eventual undoing of the young woman who invited Alexis into her home. An evening was passed in amiable conversation, as the young woman shared her taste in the music that played softly in the background, and there came the eventual consideration of where the evening would lead as it came to be time for bed. Seated as they had been, upon a love seat as they drank chamomile tea and took in the vibe of one another, there came a moment where, innocently enough- as a book of poetry was passed between them, hand brushed hand, flesh touched flesh, and the gossamer thin wall that had been holding back the flood of desire within them each was breached. Deliciously breached...

There passed between them over the next few hours the whole of what the human race had accumulated in the way of tender, intimate and erotic urgings- Alexis the eager and responsive student studying and learning at the hand of the tender young woman and returning the favor, as their first tentative kiss evolved seamlessly into a night of love-making the likes of which the girl was certain she had never enjoyed in her wildest dreams, much less in reality.

Lying a-bed and with bodies lovingly entangled, Alexis gazed upon the face of the girl, admiring the peace that radiated from her facial expression even in the midst of sleep. She found herself longing for that sort of simple acceptance of life on the terms presented of a moment- unimpaired by the knowledge that there was so much more in the universe to disabuse a creature of any semblance of hope and trust. But life was indeed complicated, and eventually the primal drives for survival reasserted themselves within her mind, and she set about satisfying her "need".

The mechanics of it were simple enough, however accomplished, to envelop and to absorb one of these human creatures, Alexis concluded as the last of the young woman disappeared slowly into the body of the beautiful alien. There had been a moment, when the girl had come halfway back to wakefulness, and finding herself trapped more deeply than in the most loving and passionate of embraces with another had looked imploringly into Alexis' eyes for a few moments. Alexis' soft gaze in reply, whispered hushing breathed upon her love's lips, and soothing touch upon the mind of her prey to quiet her, soon softened the girl's expression and her eyes drifted closed once again in helpless and erotically overwhelmed resignation to the process taking her softly from her life.

As the faint light of daybreak touched her cheek, Alexis luxuriated in the softness of a lover's bed- curled around the quiet, still form at rest within her, and in her mind's eye she watched the girl- what is termed her soul, more precisely, as it rose and flew lightly as a butterfly upon the wind, finally free from all the cares that had bound it to its host over its lifetime. Alexis mentally put her hand out, and the butterfly came to her, lighting upon her hand, and in that oddly trusting way that creatures do, allowed the alien to bring her close to her face for closer examination of the beautiful and iridescent colors that made her wings a thing of such incomparable beauty. Truly, Alexis realized, there is so much more to know in this terrible universe than she had come to know, so much more than survival- eat or be eaten, or conquest for whatever purpose. The soul of the girl she now possessed gently breathed that message home to her with every beat of her butterfly wings...

That was her first, and as Alexis watched the people passing by, she felt her hunger grow, and inwardly agonized at knowing she was every bit as much a prisoner of a cruel universe as any creature compelled to surrender its will to that of another...

As time went by, temporarily captive as she was on this god-forsaken bit of space rock as was earth, Alexis perfected her technique in taking her prey, always careful to maintain a low profile lest a good thing be spoiled and her possibly being found out and subjected to whatever brand of justice she feared these humans might exact upon her. One individual she could easily deal with, either to despatch outright, or to control its mind sufficiently to render perfect her record of remaining undetected- a whole collective of humans railing against her she was not at all sure she could survive.

She had discovered a variety of interesting things about the humans that moved about her, oblivious as they were to her true nature and purpose in their midst. The females of the species, for example, were every bit as passionate in their need for closeness and intimacy as could be found in a condition they universally termed as "love", as any male. But they were different somehow. Males were more to the point, even to the point of brutishness and quite crude in their way of rutting after females. It seemed they cared little more than for the chance to plant their seed, no matter what they professed to disguise that bald-faced purpose. It was as though, once aroused by the mere possibility of sex, men basically lost their minds and were as easily led about as a bull with a ring through its nose. That certainly made her job that much easier, when deciding upon who to make her next victim.

But the pursuit of the female of the species she found to be far more interesting and rewarding, as the complexity of their feelings, their thoughts and motivations in seeking intimacy with another made her reflective and in a very real way more inclined toward protecting their newly freed souls within herself, much as one might catch themselves in mid-slap upon realizing that the bug that had landed on them was not some disgusting insect but rather a beautiful butterfly, and in registering that awareness become almost reverent in exercising the utmost in delicate handling of the creature as they set it free. Loving and possessing the female of the human species made her feel good inside- warm and with a sense that all she was experiencing among these humans might have a higher purpose than merely perpetuating her existence. She just needed to learn what that was...

What was it about woman-kind that fascinated her so? It was certainly something that males obsessed upon, as they sought incessantly to couple- a drive rooted so deeply in their genes that it could scarcely be overcome by the most stalwart of men. At length she concluded that the quality that made women so desirable was keyed to the universal requirement for growth, for change. And women had the capacity for making that change happen in the most fundamental of ways- they could nurture within themselves and bring into the world new life. An amazing thing, that- to be able to give birth to a new creature, to nurture and coax it not only into existence but then to mold and shape it as it grew to add to the richness of the mosaic Alexis had come to appreciate about the human race. The mere arrangement of genetic material in a developing life could give rise to the most impressive (or horrific!) of qualities and capabilities in the human being that resulted from a woman giving birth.

People possessed of incredible talent in every arena of endeavor surrounded her, and she watched them tirelessly, coming eventually to regret the impact she was having on this race as she predated upon its members. And it was as that quiet battle raged within her that the human race found its salvation- as Alexis determined to leave this speck in space and to never share knowledge of its existence with others who might come seeking nourishment at the expense of its souls...