Like a train wreck, that snagged her attention.
“Oh? You have much practice with that?”
A warmth unfurled in her belly as her mind began to conjure up different ways the barb could be manipulated.
He grimaced. “Another thing that damns me in the eyes of my clan is that yes I have experience.”
She wanted to smack herself. She’d gone and done it again. She and her big mouth. But she couldn’t stop herself now.
“Hold up. You’re telling me that a species that gets their freaky shit on in groups is mad you had sex?” She stared at him, aghast. The Vori seemed to walk the strangest line between liberal and prude that she’d ever heard of.
His eyes crinkled with humor. Despite the shit that had obviously been heaped on him throughout his life, the laugh lines around his eyes were deep, showing a male of good humor who laughed often. She had to admire that.
“Despite our mating proclivities, all Vori are expected to remain untouched until they mate. For females, this means that the seal on their mating slit has to be penetrated to open up her sex. The first male breaks the seal with his claws before penetrating her. For males, this means that we do not allow our sex to drop from our salet. To do so is considered uncouth. Although some males do take toward masturbation to ease themselves while they look for a mate, it is frowned on socially. Worse is to sexually engage with a female whom you have not mated with.”
“And you bucked tradition, I take it?” Her lips curved in a small understanding smile. She understood going for the gold of finding pleasure where one could when potential mates were in short supply.
“Not intentionally,” he said with a sigh. “I knew that I was unlikely to find a mate among my own kind and so I sought a mate among offworlder females that could sometimes be found in the ports at our capitals. I made an error in judgment. I thought the female and I both wished to mate. I waited for her to offer the mating bond, certain that it was coming. Every night we laid together, but it never came. My clan became aware of it and when she left Vora, leaving me behind and unmated, it ruined my reputation among my clan. They all assumed the worst, that I had used my time away from the clan territory to seduce offworld females. Now, not even my eldest brother is able to trust me with his mate.”
Anger burned through Jenn. “That is such bullshit,” she snarled, offended on behalf of him.
His scaled brows rose, his surprise transparent on his face.
She scooted forward, wobbling as she nearly lost her balance. At some point, she’d gripped the end of his tail without even realizing it. Dropping it, she moved forward and set both of her hands against his chest. She paused, gauging her reaction to the touch. Other than a slight shiver, she was good. She craned her neck and met his gaze from where he hovered above her.
“There’s nothing wrong with you. That they treat you like that when you did nothing wrong other than trust the wrong person, and took a chance to find someone who would accept you doesn’t make you damaged, unnatural, or any other bullshit adjective they want to saddle you with. If they can’t value someone as great as you, then they’re massively stupid.”
He embraced her, tugging her up against his chest. She willed her body to relax after the initial shock, and to her surprise she melted into his embrace. It felt so good to be held. It had been a very long time since she had that simple contact with another being. It had been too long since she felt warmth and affection in another’s touch.
He looked down, meeting her eyes. His claws tracing over the thick scars along her neck, his lips pulled down into a concerned frown.
“Now that I have told you my terrible secret, will you tell me what caused this and the scars on your lower body?”
Jenn froze. She wanted to confide in him, to cry on his shoulder and tell him all the horrors she’d experienced on Agraadax, but her tongue felt thick and heavy in her mouth. She recognized what it was: fear. Eyuul’s tongue flickered. No doubt he tasted it on the air. His frown deepened even.
“You don’t have to be afraid, Jenn. Nothing you could ever tell me would make me think less of you.”
She blinked back her tears. She wanted to believe that, but for a species that obviously valued hatchlings, how would she change in his eyes when she told him that she was defective? Of all the miscarriages that had left her feeling broken and worthless? All the self-healing in the world didn’t seem enough to take away that pain. She shook her head and forced a small smile.
“Maybe another time.”
A mulish expression tightened his face and he turned his head away, hissing between his teeth. Not at her. Although a shiver raced over her skin with alarm at the fury on his face, she knew instinctively that it wasn’t directed at her. His eyes turned to her once more and his expression softened.
“Someone hurt you in a terrible way, and I find that I want to tear them apart and make them suffer for every scar left on you, every pain inflicted. Vori bite when we fertilize our mates, but we don’t ravage their flesh. None of my brethren in my clan would make a female tremble in fear at a look or a friendly touch from a male. Whoever hurt you deserves the worst and harshest retribution brought against them. But know this, when you are ready to tell me, in my eyes you will even more so be the strongest, most courageous female I know to have survived what you did.”
She rested her cheek against his chest. His crowned coils stroked over her braids, occasionally winding around them.
“I’ll tell you... soon,” she promised.
She felt his lips brush the top of her head in silent reply.
Clearing her throat, she gave him a watery smile. “So tell me about your clan. You said your brother mated a human?”
Eyuul returned her smile, the sadness within it hinting that he knew it was a delaying tactic on her part, but he did not object. Instead, he launched into the story of how his brother and Shaagra, Vadal’s nestmate, brought home and mated a human, Reggie.
Leaning back against him, she smiled when his tail looped around her as he regaled her of their adventures and Reggie’s misadventures in adapting to the life and customs of Vora, including the moment that Eyuul had met Reggie after Vadal and Shaagra had fought back a dangerous predator.
Jenn laughed more times than she could count and more than once gasped in awe as he spoke of the Kampi and their assault upon the clan nesting grounds to regain Reggie. More and more Jenn felt that she would like this woman, and quite probably become friends with her if given the opportunity.
Chapter 15
Jenn was alone in the nest. Eyuul left some time earlier with the intent to hunt. She didn’t mind the solitude. It was infinitely more comfortable than the brief times he left her alone in the tree. But since they needed to eat, he left with his spear and Jenn remained behind to enjoy the small fire blazing in a carved-out hollow. She nibbled on a bit of fruit that Eyuul had given her before he left. The fruit was shaped like an eggplant and fuchsia in color with splotches of rosy pink, which was odd, but the taste was both sweet and tart, which she found strange... and delicious. It took all her willpower to resist inhaling the treat in a single sitting.
She was nearly recovered but puking in the corner was not something she looked forward to.
Her body still felt weak, but her energy was returning, and along with it her appetite. Eyuul had been thrilled that afternoon when Jenn, after days of eating only a few small bites, professed herself to be starved for a thick steak. After a prolonged discussion that veered way off course to cattle ranching in the American Midwest, Eyuul had grabbed his spear with a triumphant grin and departed their modest shelter.
Jenn suspected she would be fed shoyla and tried not to shudder at the thought. She needed to learn to adapt to the Vori way of life.
Where had that thought come from? After she contacted the Intergalactic Council, she was going to contact Earth to return home... there was no need to adapt, right?
Her brows knit as she tried to recall what the small town where she grew up looked like. T
o her dismay, many details had become fuzzy in her mind. Even the salty bite of the air, common to coastal towns in Washington, had faded from memory. She felt a pang of... what was it? Regret? She didn’t feel homesick, but a sort of sadness that a place she’d loved all her life, the scent and beauty unique to the Pacific Northwest, was nothing more than a postcard in her mind. A sweet memory, one that she now felt detached from. Would it feel like home again after she returned?
Jenn didn’t think it was going to be quite that easy. What would her childhood friends and family really understand of what she’d gone through? Then there would be the talk among the neighbors. Word spread quick through small towns, and no one was spared from being fodder for gossip. She imagined their looks of sympathy and hushed whispers and speculation. She grimaced as she considered the media circus that would also surround her arrival.
Her family was the only bright spot, even if they didn’t understand. Her mother was always supportive, and her brothers would threaten to pummel anyone who gave her a hard time. Her lips curved into a smile, but it quickly fell.
Going back to Earth meant never seeing Eyuul again. Not long ago, she wouldn’t have felt any particular way about it. But now? The thought of never seeing his disturbingly long-fanged grin, or the way he glowered protectively made her heart lurch. Jenn supposed she would miss her snake-man.
She scowled down at her hands, probably the only truly clean bit of skin on her as she rolled that revelation around in her head. She’d become so accustomed to Eyuul that she forgot at times that they were different species. He had come to represent comfort to her, and she had adjusted to many of the habits of her Vori companion.
One of the first things she’d adjusted to was Vori cleanliness, which struck her as odd considering that he dragged over half of his body through dirt and foliage. That was until she noticed that he went through a routine of inspecting and cleansing his scales, muttering about the lack of oil in the nest. She never considered her habits to be unclean. She did the best she could with a rag every day, giving herself a sponge bath, and washed her hands before and after eating.
It had taken one surprised—and somewhat nauseated—look from Eyuul when she went straight from eating tidbits of meat to fruit for her to mirror his habits. After day three, it had become almost second nature for her follow the Vori custom of washing in between eating different things. She admired how sanitary Vori customs were, even if they took some getting used to.
She wondered at just how pristine an actual nest would look. Eyuul did his best, cursing the roughly carved-out stone. She had an idea that nests were likely smooth and polished stone, from his muttered complaints that weren’t always as quite under his breath as he seemed to think they were. Jenn was eager to see what a real Vori nest looked like. She appreciated his attempt to make their surroundings comfortable, and, as she gained strength, she helped him with small tasks that he allowed her.
Jenn suspected that the males of the species carried a larger part of the domestic duties, given the way his eyes had widened the first time she grabbed a rag and went to help him wipe off the table. He tolerated her clumsy attempts to help, even though it seemed to take him little effort to keep the den free of dirt as well as care for her. Eyuul’s patience seemed never-ending. He hadn’t complained once about hauling her out of the nest every time she needed to relieve herself and stood guard since they didn’t have a cleansing unit.
She’d initially assumed Vori life was simple. As of yet, she hadn’t been in one nest where she’d noticed a significant amount of technology. Not that she had much time to inspect the nest of Xenel and Emelo. Still, she’d thought that their technology was understated and what little they had was given to them.
She’d been surprised to learn that they possessed a lot of technology that was common through the intergalactic community, as well as developing those unique to their species. Other things, such as their method of hunting and raising livestock, weaving and ceramic arts were holdovers to traditions, not wanting to abandon their customs when they’d embraced their technological advancements.
It was odd to her, compared with the finery and utilization of tech for every little thing in metropolis in which the Agraak lived. When she’d said as much, Eyuul had just laughed and said that sometime in the future he’d take her to the western continent’s capital port city, Evath. He told her of the guards and warriors with their cybernetic modifications on their arms and the ends of their tails that made them far more lethal than other Vori, the entertainment found in the city that drew performers from different parts of the universe, and the wonder of watching the ships dropping into the docking zones. Jenn yearned to see these things as he described them, but a small part of her wondered if she’d ever get the opportunity after she delivered her information to the Intergalactic Council.
With a sigh, Jenn tossed the hard, round seed, still slick with juices, into the fire and watched the flames spark and crackle as it burned through the pit. A pleasant fragrance filled the room that was almost reminiscent of apple pie. She could really go for a thick slice of it, topped with vanilla ice cream. Eyuul mentioned that many families in the clan were following the example of his brother and buying replicators to enjoy small meals in their homes when not joining the communal evening meal. She wondered how Reggie got by with replicating various Earth foods. At that moment, Jenn would have killed for even a replicated slice of apple pie.
Reclining, Jenn picked up a long string that had unraveled from one of the cushions. She knotted the ends together, threading it between her fingers. With nothing better to do, she managed to amuse herself for a time with games from her childhood: cat’s cradle, Jacob’s ladder, witch’s broom, and other formations her fingers easily wove from memory once she got started. After a while, even that was dropped to her feet with a sigh.
She was bored out of her mind. She couldn’t wait to get out and stretch her legs. Hopefully Eyuul would get back soon.
She didn’t know how long she lay back connecting the dots of mica-like splotches on the ceiling when Eyuul slid through the entrance and bolted it closed behind him. She jumped to her feet, enthused to see him, but scowled at the legs from a young shoyla hanging out of his sack.
She’d called it. Shoyla for dinner... again.
Edging around the claws, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him close when he dropped down to her level. The comforting scent of him and the bitter scent of the shoyla’s blood filled her nose. She leaned back and laughed.
“You stink like shoyla.”
Eyuul took her teasing with good humor, the edges of his eyes crinkling as the tip of his tail tapped her on the ass. His crown coils slid down the side of her face and mingled with her braids before he set her on her feet. Jenn took the sack from his arms, making another face at it when Eyuul’s head was turned. Eating shoyla disgusted her, but she knew that he was doing the best he could to provide for her.
Jenn carried the bag over to where a pot was suspended from a hook just to the side of the fire. Picking up one of three large jugs that had been filled from a nearby stream that morning, Jenn filled the pot with water and threw the claws in before pushing the hook over the fire. She returned to her cushion where Eyuul was already coiled going through his cleansing routine. He glanced up at her from where he was pulling moss out from under a scale that winked in the light of the room and smiled.
“How are you feeling?”
Jenn shrugged. “I’m doing better. Still not as strong as I’d like but getting restless.”
Eyuul glanced pointedly down at the knotted string.
“I see you found something with which to entertain yourself.”
“A bit juvenile, but it kept my ass entertained,” she agreed around a chuckle.
He stared thoughtfully at the fire, rag stilling on his tail before he resumed his task.
“Perhaps it is time to continue on our way to es’Etale territory.”
The reluctance in his express
ion was hard to miss, even with his face downturned as he made his way over the long length of his tail with practiced ease. Jenn wondered if it was due to concern for her health or more personal reasons.
“Yes, I think so.”
Eyuul jerked his head in affirmation without glancing up.
“We will leave first thing in the morning. I know you prefer to walk, but it may be quicker if you permit me to carry you most of the way.”
“That’s reasonable. I guess I don’t mind.”
Jenn couldn’t fathom why there was this sudden tension between them. She grew up with four brothers. She’d been hauled around by one or the other of them at their whim many times. Even Eyuul had carried her over long stretches. The subject shouldn’t be an uncomfortable one.
Lifting a nervous hand, she scratched the back of her neck. She watched the restless twitch of the tip of Eyuul’s tail, a soft buzz coming from the rattler nodes on either side of it. She wasn’t the only who was uncomfortable. Even his crown coils shifted around him in agitation, though he pretended not to notice.
Jenn huffed in irritation.
“I don’t like this weirdness between us all of a sudden.”
Eyuul glanced up and raised his brows in polite inquiry.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know exactly what I mean. This uncomfortable tension between us. You’re the only friend I have, and I don’t want that to go away.”
He sighed and swiped the cloth over the end of his tail, taking care to remove debris from between the rattler nodes, and looked up at her.
“I do not want that either. Things are... odd. I find myself conflicted.”
“About what?”
He turned and faced her, his expression sincere.
“I don’t like what taking you down into my clan’s territory might mean. It will change things.”
Jenn snorted. “Naw. The only thing that will be different is that I’ll be clinging to your tail everywhere you go in a safer area rather than roughing it here in the wilds.”
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