CHAPTER 44 #2
Tavar stood tall and looked him in the eye.
“Is she really your mate, though?” he challenged.
“We have all heard about the Lumanela at the capital and how you forced yourself upon her. She has not accepted your mate bond.” He looked back at me.
“Do you need help, Lumanela? I will protect you and provide for you. I would stand by your side and cherish you always.”
Oh, shit. I was not expecting anything like this to happen, and I could see both males sizing each other up and spoiling for a fight. Dakleth looked downright murderous.
“Thank you for your offer, Tavar, but that’s not necessary. The Prince has asked my forgiveness, and I’ve given it. He brought me here to enjoy the market, but I think it’s time for us to go.”
I stepped between the two males and took Dakleth’s hand. “Let’s go now, Dakleth.”
He bristled and then shook, settling himself. “As you wish, mate.”
I turned and looked at the shopkeeper. “Sorry for the disturbance,” I said, sheepishly.
“Not at all!” she said. “Look at the crowd! They are now exploring my shop. You’re good for business, Lumanela. Come back any time!”
The other musicians took their places back and started up again. I led Dakleth through the crowd, guitar in hand. He pushed past Tavar and gave him a shove with his shoulder. “Keep your eyes off what is mine,” he snarled. I rolled my eyes and tugged on his hand.
“Let’s goooo,” I insisted.
He let me pull him along. “I will follow you anywhere, mate,” he said.
“STOP calling me that,” I insisted. Dense male.
“My apologies, Andie,” he conceded. “That male’s interest scraped at my instincts.”
“Well, put your instincts away. Let’s take our things and head home.”
“Yes, Princess,” he said, smiling at me. He narrowed his eyes and peered at me more closely. “Why is your skin pink?” he asked.
“What? I don’t know.” I felt my face, and it was hot. I looked at my arms and pressed a finger to my skin. It made a white spot that slowly faded back to pink to match the rest of my skin.
“Oh, I’m just sunburned.”
“The sun has burned you?” he said, alarmed. “Is there a flame underneath your skin? Should we jump in the lake to put it out?”
I laughed as we made our way back to the boat. “I do love a good swim, but that’s ok. It’s mild. It’s a human thing. My skin burns if I’m out in the sun for too long. I should have worn a hat or something.”
“Should I take you to a medic?” he asked.
“No, it will fade in a day or two. I might even tan.”
“Tan?” he asked.
“Yes, after I burn, the skin sometimes turns a very light brown before it fades back to my normal pastiness.”
“This is normal?” he asked.
“Totally normal for humans,” I said. I could understand his confusion. The Ptexari didn’t tan or burn or change any color, as far as I had seen. I’m sure this sounded strange.
He assisted me back in the boat, and we skimmed across the water. He stared at me intensely the whole time. Finally, I couldn’t take his scrutiny anymore.
“What?” I snapped at him as we docked, and he gathered our purchases to carry to the car.
“Is there a purpose for this color change?”
Surprisingly, I had never questioned sunburns.
It was just a thing that happened in the summer.
It never occurred to me that there might be some reason for it.
“You know, I don’t really know. I never thought about it before.
I don’t think so. Maybe it’s just a warning for us not to stay outside too long. ” I shrugged.
Dakleth retracted his claw and poked my arm as I had. “It is very strange,” he said. “Does it hurt?”
“Not right now,” I replied. “It will probably sting a little later if I touch it a lot. This is minor - just a little pink. If I were really burned, it would be a deeper pink. Almost red. That hurts. A LOT. I went to the beach once with some girlfriends, and we fell asleep outside on our beach towels. Worst burn I ever had. Never again!”
We got in the car and headed back to the Palace. Dakleth poked my shoulder and watched the color change. “Stop poking me,” I said.
“I am sorry, Andie, I have just never seen anything like this,” he said, fascinated as he bent down and peered closely at my skin. I rolled my eyes.
“Look, I get it. It’s super weird. But it does hurt a little when you poke it,” I complained.
“My apologies!” he exclaimed, straightening up immediately. “I had no intention of harming you. You said earlier it did not hurt.”
“Meh, it tends to get worse as the day goes on. It’s not bad or anything, but it’s a good thing I’m out of the sun for now. I’ll soak in a cool bath when we get back to the Palace.”
“So I was right, we should have jumped in the lake.”
I laughed. “Ok, ok, yes, it was a good idea, but water reflects the sun. My lower body would have felt better, but the sun on my face would actually have gotten worse. Taking a bath indoors is a better step.”
“I see,” he said. “Do you enjoy swimming?”
“I do, although I haven’t gone swimming here. On Earth, we usually swam in man-made pools or near the shoreline of the ocean. I don’t know what kind of critters live in your lakes and rivers, and I didn’t want to find out the hard way.”
“You are wise to be cautious. There are some predators in the larger lakes that could be bothersome, but there is no issue with swimming in the smaller creek that runs behind your village. And there are bathhouses in the city with pools. Perhaps we could go sometime.”
“Maybe,” I said non-committally. “Right now I’ll stick with the tub in my room at the Palace.
” The sanitizing room at my cottage had a shower only, but the room I usually stayed in when I slept over at the Palace had a lovely sunken tub.
The more I thought about it, the more appealing I found the idea of a cool bath.
“Perhaps it needs a good scrub,” he suggested.
“Nope!” I said. “The last thing I need is a scrubbing. I’d peel my skin off!”
Draketh looked horrified. “Your skin peels off?”
The look on his face. I laughed so hard I snorted. He looked at me like he had discovered a slimy toad in his soup. His expression was the picture of horror and nausea rolled into one.
“You’re going to love this,” I said. “Humans constantly - and I mean constantly - shed our skin cells and hair. They’re being continuously replaced by new ones.
Normally, you can’t see the shed skin - well, sometimes our skin might look a little ashy, and you just need a good scrub and some lotion, but I digress.
Anyway, when we brush our hair, there’s always some hair in the hairbrush.
It keeps us healthy, I promise. But when our skin gets burned like this, it’s damaged.
The cells will shed more quickly. If the burn is really bad, the whole top layer peels off, and it’s super gross. ”
Dakleth was staring intently at my arm like he was expecting my skin to slough off then and there. I giggled at his expression. “Are there any animals on this planet that molt?” I asked.
He looked away from my skin as he contemplated the question. “There are a few species that molt,” he said. “I suppose it is similar. I did not realize that humans molt.”
“Well, it’s not quite the same, but that’s the closest thing I can think of.
On our planet, some animals molt when they reach adulthood or when they outgrow their current size.
Humans don’t molt all at once as part of our general growth, but we are constantly shedding and regrowing skin cells. It’s similar in principle, I guess.”
He was quiet as he contemplated this. He was clearly bothered. I wondered if he was grossed out enough to stop pursuing me. That would be a laugh. We’d had such a nice day together. I was finally getting comfortable in his presence, and now he was uncomfortable in mine. Ain’t life a bitch?