CHAPTER 5 #2
S’samph didn’t understand the odd blend of emotions rising inside his chest. They filled him with a sense of unease and left him spinning beyond the careful control he usually tamped over his feelings.
There should be no real reason for K’kaen not to express his interest, but Eleri at the very least deserved a proper courtship.
Just because they didn’t live on Latilla anymore didn’t mean they were mindless raviks.
However, the thought of his friend courting Eleri made his chest go tight, nonetheless.
“Leave her alone.” The command came out in a harsh hiss, startling both him and K’kaen. His friend glanced at him, concerned. They’d once served in the same unit together, with S’samph as K’kaen’s commanding officer, but now they were friends—no military status between them.
“Sorry, sorry. Not the right timing, I understand.” K’kaen dropped his frill in a gesture of peacekeeping. But then to S’samph’s frustration, his friend turned back to Eleri. “I can come off a bit strong. We’re going to find a meal if you’d like to join us. I can give you a ride back after.”
“I’m not really hungry at the moment.” Eleri glanced down the main path as if trying to find a place to flee. “I don’t mind walking, if you could just give me directions.”
“My treat, come share a meal with us. We’ll be on our best behavior, I promise. It’s still hot out here to walk.”
“She said no, K’kaen.” S’samph’s tail twitched. He still hadn’t identified what had made her so distressed before they’d approached.
“Have a good night.” Eleri turned and marched purposefully in the opposite direction.
It was the wrong direction if she was trying to return to Pyo’s dwelling.
Her color had returned to normal, but S’samph was still reluctant to let her off by herself, especially given what K’kaen had said about the males who’d approached her the night before.
After a quick mental debate, he turned to K’kaen.
“I’m leaving.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m giving Eleri a ride home.”
“What? You flared at me for trying to interact with her and now you want to give her a ride home?”
“I’m going to offer. She can say no.” S’samph grumbled. He was getting tired of trying to explain himself.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t just mate her. Clearly, you’re interested, and you’ve already paid her transport fees.” K’kaen’s frill rippled with annoyance “Go then. But you’re buying the first round of drinks when you get back.”
“You won’t wait that long to start drinking.
” S’samph pulled out his levibike starter and ran after Eleri.
She hadn’t gone far, so it didn’t take long to catch up with her.
Her shoulders hunched as if preparing to be attacked as he came up behind her.
When she managed to turn around and caught sight of him, her body stiffened further.
“I’ll take you back to Pyo’s home if you’ll let me.
” He held up the levibike starter, trying to prove his intentions were without motive.
Eleri’s eyes narrowed as she was clearly weighing her options.
It was a clear evening, but the walk back to Pyo’s home was long, and he worried about her physical wellness considering her illness the night before. Finally, she made a small noise.
“You really don’t have to.”
“I would like to. You don’t know the way and the walk is taxing.”
She stared out in the direction of the irrigation canal, the alarming blue of her eyes unblinking. Finally, she turned back toward him. “Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?”
“I would not say it if I didn’t mean it, female.” Her roundabout way of speaking was beginning to give him a headache.
“Thank you.”
S’samph wasn’t sure how to respond, so he just started walking in the direction of the levibike charging hub. Eleri took the cue to follow him. He knew he should ask her something, make small talk to break the ice, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what to say.
“Do you have any peroxide?” She asked him, startling him from his brisk pace.
“Peroxide?”
“It’s an antiseptic,” she clarified, “but it’s also a good organic stain remover. If you don’t have any, I’ll get you some from the clinic.”
S’samph stared down at her. Was she offering help to remove the stain from his boots?
The boots were for working, it mattered little if they were stained.
“It’s fine. There is no stain.” He felt his back frill twitch as he lied, but she didn’t know how to read Latil’e body language, or perhaps she did. He had never taken the time to ask.
“Okay. Well, if you change your mind, I’ll bring some to your home.”
“That is thoughtful.” Awkwardly, he started the levibike and gestured for her to get on behind him. Eleri clambered on behind him, making sure to keep as much distance between them as possible as she gripped her set of handles. They rode in silence.
This close to her, S’samph noticed her natural scent had been washed away and now she wore only the faint smell of chemical cleanser.
For some reason it made him uncomfortable, but that was really none of his business.
If he hadn’t been such a flaming ravik to her a few nights before, they might be riding back to their shared nest, rather than him dropping her off at Pyo’s home.
When they reached Pyo’s home. S’samph offered a hand to help her dismount. She ignored him and stumbled in the dust.
“Thank you for the ride.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes. He couldn’t blame her.
“Any time.” S’samph wasn’t sure what possessed him to make an offer like that, but it hung between them.
He would honor it if she asked him to. Eleri merely nodded and hurried back inside the dwelling.
Artificial lights flickered on when the door closed behind her and he could hear the cadence of voices, although he was too far away to hear what they were saying.
It was none of his business anyway. S’samph hopped back on the levibike and rumbled back into the town where he knew K’kaen would badger him to no end once he returned to The Eon.
After parking, S’samph made his way inside and slipped into the booth across from K’kaen.
The whole room went quiet as he settled himself on the slightly sticky seat, save for a few whispered snippets of conversation.
He knew the others were muttering about him, so he fixed anyone who made eye contact with his dourest stare.
However, after three glasses of the cheapest kvost on the menu, he found he cared little.
K’kaen plied him with more inane questions over the course of the evening, but he couldn’t keep his focus long enough to answer with more than a few noncommittal words here or there.
His friend certainly made sure to hit his credit balance with as many expensive drinks as possible, taking advantage of his divided attention.
“Why are you so upset if you don’t even want her?” K’kaen asked.
“I’m upset about the situation, not Eleri.”
“Right, then you don’t mind if I take her?” K’kaen slammed a shot glass of sploor on the table and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his dusty work shirt.
S’samph contemplated pelting K’kaen in the face with the empty shot glass but instead settled for jabbing him hard in the side with his tail. “Leave her alone, you insufferable ravik.”
“Ha! I knew it.” K’kaen threw back his final shot of sploor and belched loudly, making S’samph even more tempted to punch him.
Instead, he rose from the table and smacked his hands loudly on the flat of the surface.
“Enough.” His motions were woozier than anticipated, unused to drinking heavily as he was.
“You’re an idiot, S’samph. If you don’t take her,” K’kaen slurred into the emptiness of his shot glass, “then someone else is gunna.”
S’samph used the tabletop to balance himself as he tried to make a graceful exit from The Eon without K’kaen stumbling after him.
He only made it a few paces before he started to wonder what Eleri was doing this evening.
This was madness; he couldn’t continue this way.
It wasn’t fair to Eleri, and it certainly made him act a fool.
At sun high the next day he would go straight to Pyo’s office and ask that the mating contract be officially dissolved.
When he stumbled back to his nest that evening, S’samph caught himself thinking about how it would be too shabby to bring a mate here.
Although his vision spun with the aftereffects of the kvost, the sparseness was obvious enough.
The narrow sleeping ledge was only wide enough for one person.
His kitchen had a single burner as he barely cooked for himself.
The windows were hung with swatches of mismatched gray fabric he’d bought on discount from the general store.
It was a home designed for the bleak austerity he’d resigned himself to.
He would have to clean and decorate it before it was fit for anyone else to live with him.
Not to mention, he had no sense at all about Eleri’s particular tastes.
It was ridiculous for him to think about such things, but knowing he wasn’t suitable as a mate and wanting to have one anyway were two entirely different things.