Chapter 16
Tsok
His female had set him a challenge, and he was determined to meet and surpass it. If he could just figure out what it even was.
She declared she was fine – a human female flag that meant something was wrong. So, it seemed the pamphlet was correct about that.
Therefore, the pamphlet seemed a good place to start to find an answer.
He re-read both the summarized human pamphlet all matched mates were given and also the human experiment findings he had special access to. He spent marks just trying to figure out exactly what part of the process he had messed up so badly.
That look in her eyes…
She wasn’t just unhappy with him. She wasn’t just angry. She actively disliked him.
Being someone’s mate wasn’t a guarantee that you would like them. It didn’t even mean that you would love them. Matings could turn sour. Not as easily as other relationships, for sure, but the consequences were much more severe if they did.
It was rare, but there were even instances where mates were only ever friends. The bond didn’t force feelings of attraction or affection, it just made them easier. It was a bond between people, that was it. A strong one unlike any other, certainly. One that meant a person often couldn’t live without the other, sometimes very literally. But the shape of the bond, the form of it, the results of it, differed from person to person. There was certainly a commonality of romance and lust, but it wasn’t required.
There was nothing stopping Misty from disliking him – or, more accurately, there was nothing that would force her to like him. Even if they were properly bonded. Which, as she had pointed out, they were not.
Something that irritated him for some reason.
That was why he had gone back to the basics. He scoured the human experimental data with a careful eye, trying to find a clue.
“Er, honored char?”
He blinked, looking from his holodisplay to Davard. He hadn’t heard his assistant come in, but he couldn’t miss the confused look on his face as he saw what he was researching.
“Were you saying something?” Tsok asked, leaning back. Grimacing when his neck muscles protested their stiffness. How long had he been reading? The data was extensive and long, a great deal had to be cut to make the pamphlets easy and quick to read. That just meant he had a lot of studying to catch up on to learn about his human.
“I was just wondering why you were examining the human social data so closely. Is there a problem with the honored charina?”
“Apparently. I seemed to have misstepped somewhere. Though I do not know where.”
Davard frowned. “How is that possible? You never even speak to her.”
“Exactly! So, what could I have done wrong?”
“That is a conundrum,” Davard frowned. “She always seems happy and fulfilled when she’s going about her day. She hasn’t expressed anything to me.”
“Has she done anything unusual since we got back from the gardens?”
Davard hummed thoughtfully as he considered the question. “I can’t think of anything. She went right to bed afterwards, and she was up early to get to her salon. She seemed quite focused and satisfied with her work. She never speaks to me of you though. Perhaps it is something she has not seen fit to tell me. Or anyone.”
“That does make things difficult. How am I supposed to fix the problem if she’s hidden it?”
“Maybe that’s part of the test?”
“What kind of test doesn’t give you the question?”
“A puzzle?”
Tsok sighed. “She certainly is that. But I think I have a lead. Listen to this: ‘Human females enjoy receiving flowers as part of the courting process. It is considered a minor addition, but an important one. They appreciate frequent, small gifts. However, in the event that her male stops providing her with these flowers, she might become unhappy and displeased. Notably, she will not mention this to him’.”
Davard harrumphed, annoyed. “Well, that is just silly. Why wouldn’t she tell him if that was the source of her displeasure?”
“Ah, see, but it goes on. ‘This is because human females do not actually want or require the flowers. What is truly desired is her male’s conscious, willing, and free decision to obtain this gift for her. She grades him based on effort, not on results. If a female requests or demands flowers, it becomes a chore the male must fulfill and therefore loses the inherent value she’s truly seeking’.”
‘“Hm,” Davard looked thoughtful. “So… she wants flowers?”
“I think that must be it,” Tsok nodded. “She is not asking for them because this is a traditional test of human females. She is checking to make sure I want to give her flowers.”
“But Char Tsok, you’ve given her an entire manor of flowers.”
Tsok made a triumphant sound. “Yes, but that was just once. She needs repeated gifts. That must be why she has steadily grown more cross with me. She wants more flowers, and I have not given her more than the ones already there when she arrived.”
Davard brightened. “That does make sense!”
“Right?” Tsok laughed. “That is why she has been so reticent to tell me. It was something I needed to do on my own without her requiring it of me, thereby making it a chore.”
Davard beamed. “You are brilliant, honored char. I knew there must be a reason for this. A traditional, human courting behavior. How wonderful.”
“And a complex one at that,” Tsok blew out a breath. “Can you imagine if I didn't have access to this information? I would never have known! I wonder how the other alien males who mated human females figure all this out.”
“Human females are truly a mystery. They must have been lucky. Or maybe their females were simply willing to settle for less.”
Tsok puffed his chest up at those words. “My Misty would never. She is a female of class and quality. It is only natural she would have high demands of me.”
“This pleases you?” Davard asked, cocking his head curiously.
“Naturally.” Tsok stood to walk to the window. “It proves that my female is one of high standards who values herself as something precious. As she rightfully should. Her challenges are a test to prove that I am worthy of her, and even if they are puzzles, I should like to meet them.”
“That is why you are our honored char,” Davard said, approval lacing his tone.
Tsok couldn’t keep the smirk off his face as he gazed from his window.
From here, he had an excellent view of the side gardens of Fellbud Manor. In particular, the path that Misty took everyday to and from her salon.
That wasn’t an intentional choice either of them made. It just so happened that his office had always faced that garden, and the outbuilding she chose to renovate was within his view. He supposed a more fanciful species would have called it fate.
What wasn’t fate was the fact that she came into view not long after he got up.
He knew her schedule now. He knew what time she came to work. The times she typically left in the evening varied based on her client’s needs. However, what was pretty standard for her was that she took her break for second meal roughly the same time every day.
And that was what this was. It was just about time for her to leave the salon for second meal. He had missed her coming out this morning because he had been studying, trying to find what he had done and how to make it better. But he could appreciate her now, even as far away as she was, as she returned to her manor for food. Hair bounce, bounce, bouncing with each step.
What kind of flowers should he get her? It wouldn’t really be practical to get her another garden on the scale of the Fellbud Manor gardens, but that didn't appear to be necessary. The data even expressly stated that the gifts were meant to be small. However, he also didn't want to settle for a single flower or a simple bouquet. As the rules stated, it was about the effort put in, not the results he obtained.
Of course, he wanted good results as well, but he was sure he could put in more effort than just-
A flash of silver caught his eye and Misty turned.
As he watched, his heart sank because a great, big smile stretched across her face. He didn't hear what she said, but he couldn’t mistake the excitement on her face as she rushed forward with open arms, throwing herself into the embrace of a silver furred male.
Immediately, unbidden but unspeakably powerful, choking him with a sick, sticky feeling, a horrible tarry emotion, black and suffocating, rose in his belly.
Who was that disgusting hairball embracing his mate?!
The hug didn't last long. Just long enough to scrape against all his nerves. But even when they separated, they continued to hold onto each other's arms. Misty was saying something. The silver male said something in return. She bobbed her head eagerly.
She looked so… happy.
Misty didn’t smile at him like that. And while he could say that she was angry with him right now, so of course she wouldn’t smile at him right now, she had never once given him such a bright, open, happy look. Not even when they first met. Certainly at no time after.
Something was clawing at him from the inside. Something dark and angry and violent. Tsok was a refined, modern male, a paragon of self restraint and will power. Yet, in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to rip off those arms that dared touch his female before tearing out his weak throat.
“Who is that?” He asked, surprised by the growl in the words.
Surprised enough to rip him out of his angry glare. Not enough to make him actually stop hating this unknown male, but enough to force himself back to calmness. Relatively, anyway. His entire body was still tight with the sudden, irrational urge to rip him away from her.
But he had never growled like that before. Who was he turning into that he would have such a reaction? It was shameful.
Davard came around the desk to stand at his side with a curious sound. But he looked first at Tsok, no doubt just as shocked by the growl as Tsok himself had been.
It was such a short time, barely a glance, but Tsok had to resist the urge to snap at his aide and demand he focus on the much more important matter – the fact that his mate was now walking around the garden with the silver furred male who was completely oblivious of how close to being mauled he was right now.
“Ah,” Davard smiled. “That is Master Flik.”
“Master?”
“Yes, honored char. Following your orders to screen each of the charina’s clients before they are allowed to make an appointment, the first ones I allowed access to her were only those from prominent, wealthy, or respected families.”
Tsok made a sound deep in his throat. If Davard was calling him ‘master’ that meant that Flik was a member of a prominent family. Their society didn’t have nobility anymore. Not in the same way that they used to. That system had long fallen by the wayside. However, the most prominent, important, or influential families still retained the use of their titles. They were purely decorative now, but since most of those families were wealthy and powerful in their own right even after the abolishment of the previous system, having a title meant you were usually still an important member of society. They were some of the only people that kept to the old family ways, even as they still followed the modern idea of artificial insemination and kit centers raising their young. They simply paid for their young to attend the best kit centers and, sometimes, even allowed them to live in their ancestral home before they graduated from those centers.
Flik being called master meant he didn’t hold the title itself yet, but that he was the currently the named heir to whatever title it was.
Must not have been a particularly influential one, or Tsok would have known him already.
The fact that he gathered no small amount of smug satisfaction from that knowledge was as pitiful as it was unstoppable. Tsok couldn’t believe he was that petty, but he also couldn’t stop himself from feeling that way.
He was the superior male. No doubt, his demanding female would see and appreciate that.
Except Flik had her smile.
That thought cut clean through his smugness, humbling him in an instant. Like he was punishing himself for daring to think he deserved to feel good about something when he had never earned Misty’s joy.
But he would! He’d get her a bouquet of the rarest flowers on Kree! He didn’t care if he had to hike to the top of a mountain or the bottom of a wild valley to get them.
“If he is her client, why are they walking in the garden?” He asked, able to cover his growl this time, but not prevent the venom from entering his voice. “That doesn’t have anything to do with braiding his fur as far as I know.”
“I believe they are also friends.”
“Friends?”
“She has a few of them.”
“Are they all males?”
“No, not all.” Davard gave him a look. “What has come over you, char? You were in such a good mood just a moment ago.”
Tsok opened his mouth, but words failed him and he shook his head, trying to recenter himself. “I do not actually know. I am just suddenly so angry.”
Davard’s confusion turned to concern. “But why?”
“I don’t know. But that male is just… I mean, he’s clearly unworthy to stand beside her. Right?”
“Er…” Davard’s muzzle moved, like he was trying and failing to find something to say. “I believe Master Flik is just visiting today. He doesn’t have an appointment for another few days.”
Tsok’s eyes cut back to the garden where Misty was waving her hand, smiling as Flik – who was obviously a sketchy, untrustworthy character – walked back to her salon. Leaving, hopefully. He was clearly not a good person to be around her.
“I want his appointment,” Tsok said suddenly, surprising both Davard and himself. He hadn’t meant to say that. The words just came flying out of his mouth. And he had no desire to take them back, even as he had no idea where they came from.
He just knew that he didn’t want Flik to keep that appointment. He wanted it.
“If you would like an appointment, I’m sure the charina has an opening at some other-”
“No. It must be his.”
“But… why?”
Tsok had no idea. He just knew that Flik had something he wanted, and Tsok had to have it instead.
Huh…
That seemed an awful lot like… envy. Or jealousy?
But why? That didn’t make any sense. Tsok was not an envious individual. And even if he was, there was certainly nothing that Flik could have that he couldn’t. So why…
“Just get me that appointment. Offer that male whatever you have to, but I want to take his place.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.”
Davard inclined his head. “Very well. As you say. Would you like me to prepare some flowers for the charina as well?”
Tsok started, surprised he asked. “No. I shall do that.”
“You will?” Davard looked even more confused. “But… why? It’s a waste of your time, honored char. Surely, you have more important things to-”
“I said, I will do it, and I shall. You need only focus on getting me that appointment.”
Tsok very deliberately turned from the window and sat back at his desk. Davard hesitated a moment but eventually turned and followed, coming back around to the front of the desk where he hid his hands in his sleeves.
“I shall do as you say, honored char. But perhaps you should see a healer. You seem to be under some stress. Perhaps the burden of your new mate is becoming too much.”
Tsok’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. Maybe Davard was right. Why else would he be suddenly so completely irrational? This was definitely going in the journal.