I moved to follow after her.
I didn't need to stay as far back as I would with a female from my own species.
I had already tested the range of Porcha's perception. Though humans had decent enough peripheral vision, I knew how to stand and when to move so she wouldn't see me.
Three humans stepped into my path: two females and a male. The females I recognized from the group that had approached me earlier, asking questions about my species and attempting to touch me in a way that suggested flirtation or simple positive social interest. The male had been on the small stage earlier for the amateur movement performance. The dance performed seemed to be about expressing the sensuality of movement that humans were capable of, displaying the flex and stretch of their bodies without any particular emphasis on power. It had been interesting, but not as interesting as the way that Porcha's neck curved where it met the gentle slope of her shoulders.
"Are you okay?" one of the women asked, reaching out towards the small cut on my chest. It had already sealed closed, and would be healed within an hour of human time. I angled my shoulder back so that her hand didn't connect, and she withdrew it.
Okay was a human expression asking if I was in a satisfactory state.
"I am exceptional," I replied.
I stepped to the side to move around the humans blocking my path, but the woman shifted, intercepting my intended vector.
"That woman attacked you!" she said. "Please, take my number. I can be a witness if you want to press charges."
I took a moment to understand the context of her words. She was indicating that she thought I had been harmed and offering her assistance in seeking a legal solution. Apparently, her pack loyalty did not extend to Porcha.
"I am courting her," I told her, then moved around her and the other two faster so she couldn't block me again.
"What did he say?" the woman gasped behind me, but I ignored her. Porcha was out of my sight, and I needed to see her, to be near her, to follow after her. I knew where her home was, but that wasn't enough. It would never be enough. Porcha was unlike any female I'd ever met before, and I knew that if she rejected me now that I had marked her with my seed, it would be a blow I wouldn't soon recover from.
I opened the door to the stairwell and heard the door at the bottom closing shut. She must have run as soon as she was out of my sight, increasing her speed to create space between us and stoke the fires of my desire without immediately triggering my urge to pursue with the sight of her fleeing at a faster pace. I leaped down the stairs, clearing them in one leap as I used the landing below as a springboard for my next jump, completely ignoring the slow box that would take me from the top floor to the bottom with no effort at all. Navigating the human world was trivial for my kind, as well as many others. Their world was designed for the minimal functioning of their bodies instead of asking for the maximum capacity that would enhance physical training just by moving around. I understood when I saw my first human in a wheeled chair, her legs strange and thin.
Humanity was beautiful in the fact that they worked to change their world to be easier for everyone, despite the failings of their medical system.
The technology the Norratar brought with them would change that as it became more integrated, but for now, humanity's caring remained in full display in the way their buildings were designed.
I was at the bottom of the stairs and out of the thick metal door onto the filthy street.
It stank in this part of the city, like piss and decaying cardboard, even though the tents were gone. Humans used to live in flimsy temporary structures on the streets around here, and though they were gone with the laws that took over unused office buildings and turned them into housing, the scent remained as if it had been baked into the sidewalk.
Porcha was heading down the street towards where she had parked her car.
A male, hunched over as he peeled himself from the shadows across the street, had taken a few steps into the street, the angle of his approach going straight for her. She saw him, turning her head as her entire body tensed as she gripped her keys in between her knuckles so they stuck out like little metal claws. She glanced back over her shoulder. Normally, I would have shifted so the shadows hid me, but I knew enough about Porcha not to do that in this moment. I remained where she could see me.
A soft smile flashed across her face as she spotted me, and her entire body relaxed.
She turned back to saunter towards her car, ignoring the approaching male.
His pace sped up as she neared her parked vehicle.
I got to him long before he came even close to her.
He let out a scream as my hand closed around the back of his neck and flailed out backward with one arm, knife clutched in his fist. I didn't allow his knife to strike me like I had let Porcha's. I was not interested in courting another male. I was, however,well enough versed in Norratar and human law that I knew that attacking another without a courtship contract was unacceptable hostility. Even if this male was one of my species, attacking a female wasn't how courtship was initiated. This male wasn't approaching Porcha to court her. He had nefarious intent.
I broke his hand.
He screamed, dropping his knife to the ground.
I shifted my grip on his neck as I spun him around to face me. I took a picture of his face and bioreadings, then grabbed the standard unit issued to visiting aliens and injected a tracking tag into the side of his neck. The tag would pop up in the Norratar peacekeeping force's system, and they would then track this male and observe his behavior. If he attempted to attack another female, he would be killed. One of the primary goals of the Norratar peacekeeping force was to eliminate males who offered any violence towards women.
The Empress had made that one of her first mandates.
My civic duty done, I smashed his skull against the side of the building, gently, as humans didn't heal quickly or handle head injuries well, and left him crumpled on the sidewalk at my feet.
"You didn't kill him," Porcha said, standing at the door to her parked car as she looked back at me.
